Seven Swords
by KingBlue10
Summary: Betrayed by his own village, Naruto Uzumaki was forced to wander around the world to look for a place to call home. Until one day he stumbled upon a new cause and with it an unlikely group of allies. Naruto joins the Kiri Rebellion in hopes of bringing peace to his new home. Dreams of becoming Hokage are gone. Naruto's new dream? To lead the next generation of the Seven Swordsmen.
1. Exile

Seven Swords

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

**Author's Notice: Hey guys here's another new story I've been planning on doing for a while now. There are still a lot of uncertainties about this story for me, I'm still undecided about pairings if I should make it NaruSaku or Harem. Well let me know what you guys think. Also, I already know what sword I'm giving to Naruto in this story, but I'm curious if it were up to you what sword would you guys give him? Also if ****this were to be a NaruHarem, the characters involved will be Sakura of course, Mei, Hotaru and Karin as the definite ones. Then there are the likes of Shion, Koyuki, Shizuka, Temari, as possibilities. Maybe Ino and Tenten. Just to throw a few names out there, it won't be all of them of course, at most there'll be six. But do let me know your thoughts on the pairings, and your thoughts on the swords.**

**I kind of started this story to help spark myself to get back into writing, I still have intentions of finishing my other works of course and I have made strides to update them but sometimes the inspiration isn't there. So i'm working on this at the moment since the concept has gotten me kind of back into it, so I hope this will be a sign of things to come. I apologize if i've been away and inactive for so long, but life is just a pain in the ass with all these other commitments. I hope you guys enjoy this story, and please do let me know what you think.**

**Well this is a bit of an AU sort of story, and an idea I've been intrigued about. I hope you all like it and a big thanks for all of you continuing to support my work as a writer. I really appreciate all you guys, I plan on releasing a few other new stories that'll help me rekindle my writing, so you have that to look forward to. Please Favorite, Follow and Review.**

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**Chapter 1: Exile**

A young blonde whiskered child traversed through the dense fog surrounding this willowy forest. The young man was bruised and beaten, his clothes were covered in dirt and blood. It had been months since he was last home, he had been on the run for a long time now. The bounty on his huge was huge and it was because of that he couldn't trust many people.

The young man was named Naruto, said boy cursed his luck it wasn't that long ago that things had been looking up for the blonde but in a matter of days his entire life was practically ruined. The Godaime Hokage was not a man on Naruto's good books, he was responsible for turning the young boy's life upside down.

Had Tsunade been chosen as the Godaime Hokage things would never have turned out this way, after retrieving Tsunade from Tanzaku Gai she was chosen as a major candidate for the Hokage position, but her opponent was a man known as Danzo Shimura. The council voted in favor of Danzo Shimura, Tsunade's long absence from Konoha, her excessive drinking, and her addiction to gambling were the only blemishes on her amazing repertoire. But they were still enough to sway the vote in Danzo's favor.

Not that long after Danzo's appointment as Hokage, Sasuke had left the village to join Orochimaru. Danzo had sent Naruto along with Neji, Kiba, Shikamaru and Choji to capture Sasuke. Naruto knew he couldn't afford to lose this battle, the life of his best friend was on the line, and he made a promise of a lifetime to the girl he loved that he would return Sasuke to Konoha.

In the end Naruto met Sasuke in the Valley of the End, and after a long hard-fought battle Naruto was the victor. Though it wasn't much of a victory since the fight itself nearly killed Naruto, had it not been for the Kyuubi's power he would've died from the wounds he had sustained from Sasuke.

Naruto was brought back to Konoha by Kakashi himself, and while he was resting in the hospital one day he was immediately arrested by the Hokage. He was placed on charges of assault and attempted murder on the Uchiha, he was of course found guilty and as punishment he was to be placed in ROOT and stripped of personality and free thinking by Danzo. He was being prepared to be the Ultimate Human Weapon, but the day before Naruto was forcibly inducted into ROOT, Jiraiya and Tsunade came to his rescue. They broke him out of his cell, and they supplied him with a bad full of supplies.

During the escape Danzo was made aware and so he sent ROOT after them, Jiraiya and Tsunade could both sense the incoming threats, so they decided to stay behind to fend them off and buy time for Naruto. Since then Naruto hadn't known the fate of the two Sannin, but despite whatever happened to them the blonde was forever thankful for their sacrifice.

The following day when Naruto escaped from ROOT, he checked the supplies given to him in the bag, the first thing he noticed was a scroll. He decided to open the scroll first and it he saw directions from Jiraiya. It instructed Naruto to meet with Jiraiya's spy network, they would help him hide from the people chasing him down, Naruto followed the map that came with the scroll and headed to meet with Jiraiya's spy network one by one.

Each of them helped Naruto, all of them had been notified of this from Jiraiya since before the prison breakout of Naruto. They housed Naruto for a week, some for days, they fed him, and they helped hm go from one place to the next. But Naruto had his eyes set on one place, his goal was to reach Kirigakure, it was a dangerous place since it was in the middle of a bloody civil war. But nonetheless he knew this was the best place for him to hide since no one would dare attack the revolutionary army.

With the help of Jiraiya's spy network they were able to slowly but surely smuggle Naruto into Kirigakure. Those months were long and arduous for Naruto, but they were a thing of the past, now all Naruto had to do was find the Kiri Rebel Base and possibly join them, then he'll be able to find a home.

But things were finally looking bright for the orange-clad boy, he began to hear voices grow louder in the distance the closer he walked, maybe he finally reached the encampment. He walked as quick as he could to the voices and eventually the fog began to thin out. Once past the fog Naruto looked around and found that he was by the encampment he was looking for. The revolutionary flags were waving, there was many camps around the area, and many intimidating ninjas walking around the place.

A few noticed the arrival of Naruto and they decided to walk over to him just in case, he may look innocent and young but for all they knew he could be a spy. The Mizukage Yagura was known to be a sneaky and relentless leader, so they had to take all precautions to make sure their organization wasn't going to be compromised.

"Hey kid what are you doing here? What do you want?" asked one of the men as he glared at Naruto.

"I need to speak to Zabuza" he replied.

The two men glanced and nodded at each other before turning back to Naruto, "We'll take you to Zabuza- sama but we'll have to handcuff you just in case for precaution" one said, Naruto nodded allowing them to handcuff him.

The two led Naruto to a largest tent in the encampment, inside the tent gathered five people huddled around a table which splayed a large map of the Land of Water.

Naruto quickly scanned the room and his eyes immediately met with the one familiar face; it was none other than Zabuza the first true enemy he encountered as a Konoha ninja. The battle at the bridge was a turning point in Team Seven's ninja lives, it was then they realized the reality of shinobis.

Team Seven was quite close to killing Zabuza during their mission in Wave, but just before Kakashi was able to land a killing blow to Zabuza, Gato had arrived with a large militia of hired mercenaries. He sent them to kill everyone in the bridge, of course this angered both Zabuza and Haku.

The two rogue mist ninjas then changed their targets from Team Seven to Gato, with the rich man's evident betrayal it meant there was no longer any reason for them to keep fighting Team Seven. The demon of a man, and the ice user Haku managed to cut down and kill Gato and all his mean in a matter of minutes.

After that entire fiasco Team Seven parted in good terms with Zabuza and Haku, the two mentioned something about rejoining the rebellion effort and this was what brought Naruto all the way to Kiri. With Konoha betraying him he had no home to go to, and no matter where he went, he had a large target in his back.

Many of Jiraiya's spies noted that Kirigakure would be Naruto's best bet to be able to stay away from both Konoha ninjas and the Akatsuki. Joining the rebellion would be dangerous, but at least he would be far away from his old home, and here he had a chance of cultivating his skills as a ninja. He placed himself in a position where it was to kill or be killed, but it wasn't all bad.

After hearing of the stories about the Kiri's reputation for being the Bloody Mist, he knew that by going here to join the rebellion he would also be doing a service to people. He wasn't the type of person who could turn a blind eye to injustice, and so he after months of travelling and hiding, he made his way to the last place he'd ever expected to end up in, the Kiri Revolutionary Army Encampment.

"Is that you Naruto? What the hell are you doing here brat?" asked Zabuza before turning to the two revolutionary soldiers accompanying Naruto, "You two are dismissed, can you unlock his shackles, he won't bite. He's an old friend of mine".

The two soldiers nodded and undid Naruto's restraints before bowing to the five ninjas and leaving the camp, Naruto felt a lot comfier and at ease without those handcuffs.

"Um Zabuza-san I hate to interrupt but who is this child?" asked one of the ninjas.

"He's the kid from the Land of Waves, the one I told you all about. Don't worry everyone we can trust this kid; I can personally vouch for the brat" he replied.

Naruto smiled brightly at the others forgetting that there were others present, "Hey my name is Naruto Uzumaki. It's a pleasure meeting you guys" he said.

A middle-aged man with spiky blue hair and an eyepatch on his left eye nodded at the child, "Greetings, my name is Ao, I serve as the advisor for Mei-sama" he replied in a curt manner. He wasn't sure about this child; he noticed the obvious Konoha hitai-ate on his forehead and despite Zabuza's connection to him he wasn't going to immediately take the man's word on it.

A large chunky man with three blue stripes adorning his round face spoke next, "Well if were having introductions then I guess its my turn, my name is Chūkichi I run the spy network and Assassination department of our little operation" he said.

After Chūkichi's brief introduction a tall, slender and feminine looking man walked over to Naruto to shake his hand. The man had pale golden eyes and brown hair that reached down to his shoulders.

"My name is Utakata, I serve as the Front Line Commander of our is nice to meet you Naruto Uzumaki"

Finally, Naruto's eyes landed on the sole woman in the tent, she was a tall, busty and beautiful auburn-haired woman. She had stunning green eyes which reminded Naruto of his crush back in Konoha, and her red hair reached down to her ankles.

The young blonde was entranced as he noticed the young woman staring and smirking straight at him, it left him blushing and unable to maintain eye contact with the lady. But from what he saw she didn't seem that much older than him, she seemed to be in her teens, if Naruto had to guess she was probably just three years older than he was. A stark contrast to the other people in the camp who all seemed to be seasoned and experienced ninjas.

The woman strutted over to Naruto before leaning down to give him a small kiss on the cheek, "You're cute, the name's Mei Terumi I'm the leader of this rebellion. It's so nice meeting you Naruto-kun" she whispered in his ear in a sultry tone as Naruto shivered in delight.

Naruto then turned to Zabuza, "So what do you do then?" he asked.

"I serve as the Military Strategist and Drill Sergeant. Well with introductions out of the way I feel like you owe us an explanation Naruto. Not that I'm complaining or anything but what are you, a Konoha ninja doing all the way here?" asked Zabuza.

Zabuza was right they deserved an explanation. Naruto told them the events that occurred over the past few months to varying degrees of shock. Zabuza was of course livid, he had grown to like the young man despite once being enemies and it was a shame as to how Konoha was so willing to discard him.

"That's pretty much the entire story, and here I am right now" finished Naruto.

"I see, I'm sorry about what happened to you Naruto-kun. But it doesn't answer the big question, why are you here?" asked Mei.

Naruto sighed; he caught the attention of the entire tent when he bowed down in respect. Zabuza didn't know Naruto all too well, but he knew enough to know that Naruto wasn't the type of person to bow down to anyone, and to see the boy in this state surprised him greatly.

"I wish to join the Revolutionary Army" declared the blonde shocking the five ninjas.

"You an outsider? Why would you want to help our cause? It has nothing to do with you" asked the skeptical Ao.

"I know it seems shady with me being a former Konoha ninja, but I am serious. I want to help because I know it's the right thing to do" replied the blonde.

Zabuza then voiced his own opinion, "I can vouch for the brat, I believe him" he said as Naruto smiled thankfully at him.

Ao scowled in response, "If you vouch for him you can have the responsibility of dealing with him" he replied.

"I'll gladly take that responsibility. I know for a fact that this kid can help our forces" replied the man.

Naruto smiled in appreciation towards Zabuza, Mei then eyed the two before speaking.

"I see no problem in allowing Naruto-kun to join our ranks, but we have to know for sure what he's capable of. The risks of joining the rebellion are incredibly high, there's a reason why most of the troops we've recruited are seasoned shinobi" she said.

"I know for a fact that Naruto can fight, for Kami's sake he managed to defeat Haku" replied Zabuza.

"Hm that does sound promising" Utakata added on before facing the young blonde, "Now Naruto could you please explain your skills and weaknesses as a ninja. We want to evaluate your skills so we know what kind of role you can have in our ranks".

Naruto nodded in understanding, "Hai Utakata-san, I'm pretty confident with my chakra levels but my control isn't the best from what I've been told. Because of the amount of chakra I have it is impossible for me to use Genjutsu. I also don't know too many jutsus either but the ones I do can keep me alive" he explained.

"I find it hard to believe that a child such as yourself can hold as much chakra as you claim" Ao mentioned skeptically.

"Well I can" Naruto replied abruptly.

"Don't mind him Naruto-kun, Ao-san has always been an unbelieving fellow" interjected Mei, "Now what kind of jutsus are you capable of Naruto-kun?".

"I can only really do three jutsus" he said causing Ao to scoff in an unimpressed tone, "I can create shadow clones with ease, I can do an A-Rank Konoha technique called the Rasengan, and I can also summon toads".

The techniques mentioned by Naruto sparked a sudden interest among the council, two of the jutsus Naruto mentioned were synonymous with the Yondaime and it was hard to believe a child such as Naruto would be able to use those techniques himself. Ao was the only remaining member of the council unimpressed, he just couldn't fully believe what the kid said without seeing it for his own eyes.

"If you claim to be able to do such jutsus then surely you can show us?"

Naruto nodded and summoned a single shadow clone, together the two of them formed the Rasengan on one of his hands much to the shock of the Kiri ninjas.

"Well I'll be damned the brat actually did it" muttered Ao.

"Well I guess he doesn't have anything else to prove then Ao" said Zabuza.

"Hmph, I guess not but just remember Zabuza, he'll be your responsibility" warned the man.

"Don't worry I intend to look after the brat myself, I owe him one"

"Actually, there is one other thing I need to tell you guys about myself" Naruto interjected, gaining the attention of all the ninjas.

"Oh, and what would that be Naruto-kun?" Mei asked curiously.

Naruto sighed nervously in front of these ninja, "The truth is I am also a Jinchuuriki" he claimed shocking every single individual in the tent. A tense silence surrounded them; all eyes were directly on Naruto after this bold statement. Naruto then noticed a hushed discussion among the elder ninjas, he tried to listen in, but they did well to keep their voices low and quiet. A few minutes of soft discussion ensued, to Naruto it felt like hours. All of them were staring at him and talking about him among themselves, this unnerved the young man making him slightly nervous.

"Tell us Naruto, what beast do you hold within you?" Zabuza questioned.

The young blonde was brought out of his trance, "Um well you see I hold the Kyuubi" he answered. Mei gasped in shock, while the others studied Naruto and his form.

"This could be useful for us" exclaimed Ao, "We all know that Yagura is also a Jinchuuriki himself".

"That's true, Yagura holds the Sanbi but now we can use the Kyuubi against him. This will increase our chances significantly. He can be the weapon that wins us this war" muttered Chūkichi.

That final statement greatly annoyed Naruto, "I'm not a weapon" he declared passionately as the attention of the ninjas was placed back on the boy.

"I have no intentions on using the Kyuubi or his powers, I've seen what it can do, and it is dangerous. I want to help you with my own merit. I can fight for myself; I am a ninja not a mindless weapon"

Mei decided it was best to apologize to Naruto for their conduct, "Forgive us Naruto-kun, we didn't mean to speak of you as such. We are in a difficult position and news such as this can tip the scales in our favor" she explained to the boy.

"Before any of that if what you say is true then you have the potential to hold an incredible amount of power. If used and harnessed correctly you may be able to singlehandedly win us the war" argued Ao, "But what proof do we have that what you say is true?".

Naruto glared at the blue haired man before lifting his shirt to show the seal placed on his stomach, "This is the seal that holds the Kyuubi within me" he replied. Utakata couldn't take his eyes off the seal, he knew then and there that the boy wasn't lying.

"I believe Naruto, during our battle at the bridge he unleashed a powerful and evil chakra that had an incredible amount of killer intent. I was rooted to the spot, and it was with that power he managed to defeat Haku" explained Zabuza.

"If so then all the more reason we allow him to join us, the Kyuubi's powers can easily overwhelm the powers of the Sanbi" said Chūkichi.

Naruto clenched his fists in frustration, "I said it already I am not a mindless weapon. You guys don't know what the Kyuubi's chakra is capable of, I am fully aware. I do not want to rely on it, it is far too dangerous" he yelled.

"I agree with Naruto, as the Jinchuuriki he would surely know best. I am confident that his skills as a shinobi alone are valuable enough, and if he feels as though the Kyuubi's powers shouldn't be used then I for one am inclined to agree"

The young blonde nodded gratefully towards Zabuza for standing up for him, right after that Utakata too spoke up.

"I too agree with Naruto-san, I can understand his position" he said to his colleagues before turning to face the young blonde, "Naruto-san I too am a Jinchuuriki and I sympathize with you. I hold the Rokubi and I found it difficult at first to control his powers. I can only imagine how much harder it is to hold the Kyuubi's, I commend you for your strength".

Naruto was surprised to find himself with yet another Jinchuuriki, first it was Gaara and now there was this man Utakata before him, "Arigato Utakata-san" he replied.

"Well you all already know where I stand" replied Ao.

"Same goes for me" Chūkichi added.

"Then that leaves me I guess" Mei sighed, "I understand the concerns of both parties, but I agree with Naruto-kun. He would best know the powers of the Kyuubi and if he deems it too dangerous to use then I must go by his word. Besides if Zabuza-san is already willing to vouch for Naruto-kun's skills as a shinobi then I can't see a reason as to why that wouldn't be enough to recruit him".

Naruto smiled before nodding thankfully at the auburn-haired kunoichi.

"Well I guess that settles that" exclaimed Zabuza, "Welcome to our forces Naruto".

The young blonde smiled before bowing respectfully in front of the five, "Arigato, you won't regret this decision. I know I may not be from Kirigakure, but I will fight for it the same way I once fought for Konoha" he answered sincerely.

Mei chuckled softly, "My, my, what a promising recruit we have" she said.

"Now is there anything else you four want to tell him before I give him the tour?" asked Zabuza.

"Hai Zabuza-san, as you already know you will be responsible for the kid. But I also ask if Utakata could also help watch over him as a fellow Jinchuuriki. If he doesn't want to use the fox's powers at least let Utakata help him control and subside the Kyuubi's influence" said Ao.

"Very well I must agree to that" said Mei as all the others agreed to it as well.

"Well if that's all then the two of us will be on our way.

Zabuza walked out of the tent with Naruto in tow, the two explored the areas of the large encampment as Zabuza showed him to the infirmary tents, the kitchen tents, the sleeping areas, the latrines and other facilities around the encampment. Near the end of the tour they only had two final areas left to go, the weaponry and the training grounds.

Zabuza decided to show Naruto the former first, the two entered a large tent within the camp. Once inside Naruto's eyes couldn't help but widen at the sight of so many weapons. There were kunai, shuriken, swords, axes, explosive tags, and many other forms of weaponry.

"Here Naruto is where you go in the encampment to stock up on supplies. But make sure to not to be wasteful, I know that we have a lot of weapons stocked up but procuring them can be difficult at times so remember to try your best to hold on to them" he explained.

Naruto nodded as he continued to scan the area, but then his eyes landed on the very end of the tent, and there stood three unique blades placed in a safe display. Naruto was able to recognize two of the swords, it was the large blade that Zabuza once held and the other were the twin swords of Raiga Kurosuki, another member of the Seven Swordsmen that Naruto and his team defeated when he was still loyal to Konoha. If Naruto remembered correctly Zabuza's sword was named Kubikiribōchō and Raiga's was named Kiba.

"Hey Zabuza-san why's your blade over there? Don't you always carry it around with you?" asked Naruto, "And what's with that other blade next to it? It looks badass".

"Unfortunately, during our battle at the Land of Waves I sustained heavy injuries. I barely survived the onslaught of Gato and his men, but when you and your team nursed Haku and I back to health Haku was able to recover well but I lost a lot of mobility and strength in my arms. Wielding the blades are extremely difficult and taxing, and no one has proven themselves worthy yet so for now those blades are retired in the armory" he explained.

"Ah I see, I'm really sorry with how things turned out" replied Naruto.

"You have nothing to apologize for, in fact if it wasn't for you and your team Haku and I may no longer be walking this earth. So, if anything you have my thanks gaki" he said.

Naruto smiled up at the man, "I never pegged you for a softie Zabuza" he said.

Zabuza bonked Naruto on the head eliciting a pained hiss from the blonde, "Don't push your luck brat" he warned.

The young blonde rubbed the top of his head nursing the lump before turning his attention back to the other two swords, "What's up with Raiga's swords how'd they get here? And what's with that last sword over there." he asked.

"Well when news spread about Raiga's death at the hands of you and your team we immediately sent out a skilled unit to recover the swords. We made sure to reach it before the Mizukage's forces could. Let me say this kid, you certainly have a knack for defeating members of the Seven Swordsmen".

Naruto blushed at the praise, "Yeah well I have good teammates that's all" he said.

"As for the third and final sword that is the Hiramekarei, it once belonged to one of best warriors in the rebellion, Mangetsu Hozuki. A few years ago, he was ambushed and killed by the Mizukage's best forces. We couldn't save him, but at least we recovered the sword before they could. Though the loss of Mangetsu left us severely weakened".

"Man, these swords must really be important for you guys to fight over them" muttered the blonde.

"They really are Naruto; the Seven Swords are all legendary swords each with a unique power making it extremely powerful. If placed in the right hands they could shift the tides of war, that's why there's currently a large power struggle for possession of all seven swords. Now we have three of the seven, leaving four more out there. I for one believe that the swords are our key towards winning this war, and so we are putting a lot of our efforts into gathering all seven of the swords".

"Four more? Do you know where they are right now?" asked the boy as Zabuza nodded.

"From the remaining four three are currently in the possession of Yagura and his forces. Among the previous generation of the Seven Swords three of them remained loyal to the Mizukage. Two of them turned rogue, while Mangetsu and I joined the side of the rebels. The three loyal to the Mizukage are Kushimaru Kuriarare he wields the Nuibari, Jinin Akebino he wields the Kabutowari, and finally there's Jinpachi Munashi he wields the Shibuki" he answered.

"Who were the two that went rogue then?"

"One was Raiga but since he had been killed, he is no longer a factor. Personally, I would like to thank you for that, Raiga was causing too much trouble for our liking and it was because of his death we claimed the Kiba putting us in even grounds with the Mizukage".

"Ah it was no problem at all, I couldn't let Raiga continue doing what he pleased".

"Then there's the wielder of the Samehada, he is by far the most powerful of us all, he was second only to the Mizukage himself in turns of power. His name is Kisame Hoshigaki"

Naruto's eyes widened, "That name sounds familiar. Is he that real tall shark looking guy? Carries around this bandaged up sword or something?" asked Naruto.

"Yeah that's him, how do you know him?" asked Zabuza.

"I fought him once" replied Naruto, "I was almost done for before my sensei came to my rescue".

"You fought Kisame? It's amazing that you're still alive"

"Yeah no kidding, that guy was dangerous" replied Naruto, "So anyway back to the topic at hand, what's going on with these swords then? Wouldn't it be a waste not to use them against the Mizukage?".

"Yes, but it would be more of a waste to hand them to someone not ready only for them to get killed. If that were to happen and Yagura reclaims any of those swords that will put us at a severe disadvantage since I'm certain there's people in his ranks who can wield the swords".

"Man, that sucks then. Surely there's someone around here who can use those swords?"

"Unfortunately, not at this moment in time but we have some recruits around your age showing extreme promise. Typically, we refrain from recruiting teenagers into our ranks, but desperate times call for desperate measures. We don't have many, but we have a few soldiers your age, the only reason they were accepted was because they showed aptitude advanced for their ages, and each of them showing incredible amounts of potential. I guess that's just something war will do to you, it forces you to grow up quickly" he said.

"Ah I see, that's a shame" said Naruto, "But I guess there's no other way".

"No there's not, now come on I'll bring you over to the training grounds. There I'll introduce you to the rest of the kids your age. We train them to the bone to prepare them for things to come, starting tomorrow you'll be joining those kids in action".

"Hai you can count on me Zabuza"

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**Training Grounds**

Naruto followed Zabuza through this thick mist as they traversed through this maze of a forest. Eventually the two found their way towards a large lake and a shoreline, there Naruto was amazed to see all these other teenage shinobi training around the water. Upon the arrival of Zabuza all ceased their actions and lined up in front of the man.

Naruto eyed all six of them, all of them young but despite their age they exuded a certain level of power advanced for their age. This heavily impressed Naruto, and he hoped to be of use to them seeing as how they would be his new comrades. His eyes then landed on one familiar figure, on the very end of the line was Haku, Naruto nodded towards her and she nodded back with a faint smile on her face.

"Attention everyone, I have another new recruit who will be joining us starting tomorrow" said Zabuza as he pointed towards the whiskered teen by his side, "This is Naruto Uzumaki and from this day forth he will be your comrade in arms. Please introduce each of yourselves to him".

"Pleased to make your acquaintance Naruto-san my name is Jugo, if you are ever in need of any assistance make sure to let me know. I'll be more than happy to help a recruit such as yourself out"

Naruto could tell just how kind-natured this guy was just by the tone of his voice, the young man known as Jugo was tall and muscular. Physically he was the most advanced out of all of them, and his bright and spiky orange hair added a few more inches towards his overall height.

Next to speak up was a lean young man of average height, he had shark-like teeth similar to Zabuza's and straight white hair to go with it.

"The name's Suigetsu Hozuki, I don't know you but if Zabuza-senpai vouches for you I'm sure you can't be too bad" he said with a smug grin.

A slender and fair-skinned girl spoke next, Naruto eyed her and noticed that she had wavy blonde hair and dark green eyes.

"Nice to meet you Naruto-kun, my name is Hotaru. I look forward to working with you" she said.

Up next was another tall teenager, he had a fair complexion and messy grey hair. What immediately caught Naruto's attention was the bloodlust seen in his eyes, it somewhat reminded him of the teme.

"Kagura Karatachi" he said as he stared straight at Naruto unnerving him slightly, "It's a pleasure to meet you Naruto".

A short and meek looking kid spoke next, he wore glasses and his teeth also resembled Suigetsu and Zabuza's. He had messy blue hair and he spoke…or stuttered in a very soft tone.

"Hello…I'm Chojuro...Nice to meet you Naruto-san" he nervously stuttered.

Then there was the final person, Naruto knew her by now and he greeted her with a smile.

"It's good to see you again Haku" he said as Haku nodded in return.

"Likewise, Naruto-kun"

Naruto turned his attention to the other five before nodding to them as well, "Yosh It's nice to meet you all. I look forward to working with all of you" he said.

"I'll let you know now Naruto, since I can no longer wield my sword I act as a sensei for the new recruits now and from this day forth I'll be training you as well as these brats. So, get ready for the training from hell" he warned in a menacing tone.

* * *

**With Itachi**

The infamous Uchiha Assassin trekked down a beaten old path in the middle of nowhere, by his side walked his Akatsuki partner Kisame Hoshigaki. The two journeyed in relative silence, Itachi was never one to talk when it was unnecessary.

News of Naruto's fight with Sasuke and subsequent banishment immediately spread amongst the Akatsuki ranks, of course it was to be expected with a spy such as Zetsu. Itachi was obviously privy to the knowledge and as such it left him with a sense of inner turmoil.

Itachi's time in Konoha as a member of ANBU had him look after Naruto when he was just a boy and he had grown to like the young man, seeing him as a sort of second younger brother. Of course, Naruto never knew his real-life identity, probably for the best since he was playing as an Akatsuki double agent.

'It pains me to see you suffer for the foolishness of my younger brother Naruto-kun' he thought to himself, 'But for your actions you have my eternal thanks. My brother might be a fool, but he was lucky to have a friend such as yourself'.

Itachi continued to walk through the old path, it was times like these that gave Itachi time to think. Things weren't looking good for Konoha. Danzo was the new Hokage, Jiraiya and Tsunade were imprisoned in the tightest prison in Konoha for their assistance in Naruto's escape, and Sasuke was now apparently taken in as Danzo's protégé. All of which grew to anger the usually calm and composed Itachi. But just as his inner anger began to rise a small crow summon briefly flew down to his shoulder.

The crow began to whisper important information back to Itachi before dispelling, the rush of information made Itachi stop his tracks in surprise, gaining the attention of his partner.

"Hey Itachi, you alright?" asked Kisame.

Itachi turned to his partner and nodded, "I apologize I was simply caught off guard by the news I was given" he replied.

"Oh, so even you can be surprised. What was the news about anyway?" asked the former Kiri Nin.

"Apparently Konoha is gathering resources for a war" he coolly lied, that much was a given if you knew Danzo but fortunately for Itachi his partner had never met the old warhawk.

"Hm very interesting indeed" muttered Kisame.

Itachi continued to walk by Kisame's side, but the shark man failed to notice the rare and uncharacteristic grin on his partner's face.

'So that's where you're hiding Naruto-kun, you've done well to hide yourself from the Akatsuki and escape our eyes. I must commend you but worry not Naruto-kun your secret is safe with me' he thought to himself before briefly glancing on the gigantic sword on his partner's back.

'I think I may have found a way for me to pay you back for your actions in saving my brother'.

* * *

**One Year Later**

The past year flew like a breeze to Naruto, since joining the rebellion he never once slacked off. Everyday he and the others would train, the only days they weren't training were whenever they were getting deployed for missions. It took Naruto a while but after working hard and keeping his head down he managed to fully gain the trust of the others, most especially the ones close to his age. It had only been a year but in that time, he managed to connect and learn more about his new comrades.

From what Naruto learned Suigetsu was the younger brother of Mangetsu Hozuki the former wielder of the Hiramekarei. After the death of his older brother, Suigetsu decided to join to finish off the dream of his brother, the dream to free their country from Yagura's reign.

Jugo on the other hand was a former Orochimaru experiment, Naruto was shocked to learn that his clan were the ones who held what would be the powers of the curse seal. But Naruto trusted Jugo with this power, he knew that Jugo would never openly harm someone without reason.

Chojuro appeared to be an orphan on the verge of dying but he was saved by Mei, and she brought him here to join the rebellion. As a means of thanking his savior he chose to join their ranks. Hotaru was like Chojuro, she came from a prominent clan, but they were killed off by the Mizukage. While on the verge of death she was saved by Utakata and she joined the rebellion as thanks.

Haku was Naruto's first friend among the group since they already had their past, she knows longer saw herself as a tool, but she was still extremely loyal to Zabuza.

By this time Naruto had managed to befriend and gain the complete trust among these people, but there was one individual who Naruto was still somewhat wary of. He tried his best to connect and get to know Kagura, but he was always quite distant, not just to him but everyone. He could tell that Kagura was a dangerous shinobi, and that he had incredible potential. But his attitude just reminded Naruto too much of his old teammate Sasuke.

But Naruto could also sympathize with Kagura, Suigetsu had told him Kagura's story and he could understand why he acted the way he did. It turns out Kagura is the biological grandson of the Mizukage Yagura, Kagura's parents revolted against Yagura and for their betrayal they were executed. Kagura has since then run away from home and vowed to exact revenge on his grandfather. The death of his parents really affected Kagura, and the drive for vengeance made him strong. But despite all that he and Kagura retained a level of respect for each other.

Other than the new connections Naruto made, his training under Zabuza allowed him to progress tremendously. He was trained in taijutsu, shurikenjutsu, genjutsu defense rather than genjutsu itself since Naruto found standard Genjutsu difficult. The focus of their training however remained with kenjutsu and ninjutsu.

During their first day of training Zabuza made Naruto use a piece of chakra paper to determine his elemental affinity, Zabuza was pleased to learn that it was wind which happened to be his secondary element. He began to teach Naruto some wind techniques, and it was just recently that Zabuza discovered the true usefulness of shadow clones. With the use of shadow clones, they were able to bump Naruto's training up. Not only was Naruto learning wind techniques, but since they were in the Land of Water, they found it fitting for Naruto to also learn water techniques as well.

The second focus of their training was with Kenjutsu, Zabuza made it a necessary for all ninjas in their ranks to be reasonably skilled with a weapon for the moments when they are low on chakra. All the teenagers chose to wield swords, and this made things so much easier for Zabuza with him being one of the greatest living Kenjutsu experts at this time.

During Naruto's off time from Zabuza's training he usually trained with Utakata. The man being a fellow Jinchuuriki taught Naruto chakra control knowing it to be difficult with their incredible amounts of chakra, and he also taught him to control his animalistic tendencies. Other than that, he also helped Naruto with his water elemental techniques seeing how it was Utakata's affinity.

During the off days when Naruto wasn't training with either Utakata or Zabuza, he and his clones would study and work on the scrolls given to him by Jiraiya, before he left Konoha. The scrolls were extremely useful since they contained valuable information regarding seals and barriers.

All in all, with his new home, Naruto knew he couldn't remain stagnant so every opportunity he had to train he took it. He was now in survival mode, in Kiri it was eat or be eaten, and so Naruto made sure to hone his skills.

* * *

**Konoha**

Since Danzo had been appointed Godaime Hokage the village of Konoha has since then gone through drastic changes. Gone now were the beliefs of old, a new Konoha was rising. One of Danzo's first decrees was to lower the genin requirement age from twelve down to ten, he also forced all ex-shinobi to unretire. It was clear that the Hokage was planning something, one wouldn't typically amass soldiers in such a manner for the sake of it.

True to the statement news of a declaration of war from Konoha was soon spreading across the Land of Fire. Just a week ago the Hokage had bravely issued a retaliation against the Land of Wind and more specifically Sunagakure, for their involvement in the attack from the Chunin Exams. Truth be told many expected this kind of move from Danzo of all people, Suna is the weakest it's ever been, an attack from Konoha wouldn't be unwarranted, and Konoha was significantly stronger than Suna. All factors pointing to only one logical conclusion for the old warhawk, to conquer and annex Suna for their betrayal.

With the loss of one Jinchuuriki due to the interference of Tsunade and Jiraiya, this new plan gave Danzo an opportunity to capture another in its place. Although the Ichibi may be the weakest from the nine, it still has enough power to trample and terrorize a village. Danzo wouldn't let an opportunity such as this go to waste, and so once his forces had been gathered, he sent the newly appointed Kazekage a letter of intent.

Of course, it wasn't difficult for Danzo's cause to be supported by the public, many were still grieving from their attack during the Chunin Exams and so tensions were still high, and many of the public demanded punishment be brought down onto Suna for their betrayal. A demand Danzo was more than happy to comply to.

As for Team Seven, since the banishment of Naruto the final member of the team was replaced by a Root operative by the name of Sai. Danzo had purposefully placed Sai in Team Seven as a means of keeping an eye on the Last Loyal Uchiha. The Hokage had high hopes for the Uchiha, with the Uzumaki gone the person with the highest potential in the village was Sasuke Uchiha. As such the warhawk had taken him under his wing, training him and molding the boy in his ideas and teachings. He was proving to be a potential successor for Danzo, and of course Sasuke was more than happy to receive this level of training. Anything for the sake of power.

Of course, with Sasuke now being Danzo's apprentice he was immediately promoted to a Chunin, he alongside the likes of Shino Aburame, Neji Hyuga, and Rock Lee were all promoted by the Hokage himself from the latest Chunin Exams, this time held in Takigakure.

The loss of Naruto had affected Team Seven in a multitude of ways. Sasuke was by far the most positively affected, with the orange-clad ninja gone from his life his goal to become stronger had been greatly hastened. Sasuke hardly cared at whatever happened to Naruto, for all he cared Naruto got what he deserved for getting in his way.

Kakashi on the other hand sorely missed the energetic young blonde, Team Seven just wasn't the same without him. He just hoped that wherever Naruto was that he was safe and alive. Kakashi was extremely disappointed in Sasuke for his actions against his teammate, it went against everything Kakashi taught them. But unfortunately for Kakashi he was not able to argue about his team, the Hokage ordered him to lead them and he had no choice but to follow.

Then that only left Sakura, she probably took Naruto's exile to heart the most. She didn't attend Naruto's court martial; she hadn't seen Naruto at all since that fateful day in front of the Konoha gates. She could not muster up the courage needed to face Naruto or even visit him when he was in the hospital. She had only heard of the degree of injuries Naruto sustained trying to keep his promise to her, deep down she felt that all this was her fault. She regretted not seeing him of, to this day she worries if he's safe, or if he's even alive.

Nearly all the Konoha 11 other than Sasuke, dearly missed Naruto. But the Sasuke Retrieval Mission and its repercussions left an indelible mark on the young ninjas. Many of which distanced themselves away from Team Seven. A large majority of them placed the blame on Sakura for using Naruto's feelings for her, as a result leading to the banishment of their friend. It was only now they began to see Naruto in a different light, and now all his dreams and aspirations were forcibly taken away from him. The only ones who remained on friendly terms with Sakura were Team Ten, and it was mostly due to her best friend Ino always vouching for her.

She regretted her treatment of Naruto; it was only now she was seeing how important he was to her life. Since he left Konoha had gotten significantly quieter and livelier, everything around them felt so grey and dull especially with Danzo at the helm. Other than Naruto she was also beginning to worry about her other teammate, the Sasuke that was brought back by Naruto was not the Sasuke she knew.

He changed and she was beginning to question her love for him. She wondered sometimes how different things could have been if he left instead and if Naruto stayed. This new Sasuke was a lot more closed off, prone to anger, aggressive, cold and obsessed with power. It scared her to see what he was becoming, for the first time she began to regret her pursuit of the avenger.

* * *

**Another Year Later**

In that span of time the war for Kiri raged on but things appeared to be on somewhat of a standstill. Both sides were fighting on even grounds with neither successfully swinging the tides of war towards their side. For the most part both coalitions seemed to be evenly matched.

But the rebellion had plans of changing that, their spy networks had recently gathered a key piece of information. In the Commander Tents of the Rebel Encampment stood Mei, the young and charismatic leader of the rebellion. By her side were her two most trusted advisors, Zabuza and Ao. The three of them stood in front a table holding a large map of the Land of Demons.

Standing by the map were the soldiers summoned by Mei. There was Naruto, Suigetsu, Chojuro and Haku. The sixteen-year-old Naruto directed a question to Mei, "Mei-chan why'd you summon us?" he asked.

Chojuro and Suigetsu to this day are still shocked at how casual Naruto was with their leader, granted she wasn't that much older than them she was still the figurehead of the entire rebellion. Mei was a dangerous ninja known far and wide, and she wasn't someone you wanted to piss off. Back in Kirigakure she was heralded as a genius and a prodigy, she held two Kekkei Genkai the Lava Release and Boil Release. With her powers she quickly rose through the ranks and even becoming a Jonin by the age of Twelve. But of course, all that changed once the Bloodline purges began to happen. She quickly escaped and rallied people to her cause.

Mei chuckled at Naruto's sincerity, "Well Naruto-kun I'll have you know that we gathered incredible information that could give us the edge in this war" she replied causing gasps from the young soldiers.

"No way, what could it be Mei-Sama?" stuttered Chojuro.

"Our spies have gathered that Yagura has sent two of his beloved swordsmen to the Land of Demons, they plan to kidnap and ransom the holy priestess of the land, thus guaranteeing the support of the Land of Demons. What I want to do is send a team of soldiers to intercept them and save the priestess, if all goes well, we could instead sway the Land of Demons to support our cause and we may be able to retrieve two of the Seven Swords" she explained.

"If you don't mind me asking Mei-senpai, who are the swordsmen he sent?" asked Suigetsu.

"Yagura sent Jinpachi Munashi and Jinin Akebino, meaning we have a chance of securing the Kabutowari and Shibuki respectively".

"Sounds like in a walk in the park, so who are you sending with us Mei-chan?" asked Naruto.

"That would be us" answered Zabuza, "Ao and I will serve as the two leaders of this operation. We plan to separate into teams of three to attack and dispose of the two swordsmen".

"My team will hold Chojuro and Suigetsu, while Zabuza-san will have Haku and Naruto by his side" Ao added on.

A foxlike grin formed on Naruto's lips; he was excited this gave him the opportunity to test his own skills. He was no longer the same helpless little boy he once was; the war had turned the innocent young man into a hardened killer. Naruto still to this day hated killing and he would try avoiding it if he could, but the war made him realize that sometimes it was better in the long run to end a life, and so because of that if it ever came down to it he wouldn't hesitate.

The war had really taken a toll on Naruto, the young man had now seen the true side of war. He had grown accustomed to death, and it hardly bothered him anymore. Of course, all this death and chaos really influenced the teenagers. Naruto began to grow slightly more distant, and he even began to find vices that help him take his mind away from the horrors of war. The young man had taken a fancy to the life of adulthood, the way he saw it if you old enough to kill you were old enough to drink, fuck, gamble or smoke.

True to that Naruto had begun to pick up bad habits along the way, having to witness the deaths of comrades over and over again in a regular basis sometimes drove Naruto to the bottle, he occasionally relieves the stress with a calming smoke or through physical pleasures. It had been a tough few years for the young man, since joining the rebellion he had been forced to grow up, and in doing so he was scarred. He needed an escape from the realities of the world, even for just an hour, just enough to keep him sane.

Naruto had also grown physically through the years; he was no longer the thirteen year old squirt that arrived in camp a couple years ago. He had hit puberty finally and began to grow a couple feet taller. His frame and strength grew as well due to the intense physical training conducted by Zabuza. Gone was the orange jumpsuit he once worse religiously, since joining the rebellion Naruto had been forced to wear darker shades to protect himself from assassins. Now the young man wore a blue long-sleeved shirt, he accompanied it with camo pants and a pair of traditional blue shinobi sandals. Now stood a sixteen year old Naruto, he was no longer a little boy. He had grown up to become a man.

"I'm kind of excited, when do we leave?" asked Naruto.

"Now" replied Mei.

* * *

**Author's Note**

Thanks for reading this everyone, I really appreciate it. Please let me know what you guys think. Please Favorite, Follow or Leave a review, any of which would be greatly appreciated.


	2. Defying Fate

Seven Swords

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

**Author's Notice: Hey everyone, thank you so much for the immediate support of this story. I got a lot of good feedback, and I saw a lot of you favorite and follow this story. All this support has been amazing guys and I'm thankful for all of it. This story has rekindled my writing, I'm now trying to write more consistently and expect more chapters in the coming weeks, and possibly even a few updates and new stories.**

**Just to clear a few things up, this story is in an AU world and just so that people aren't confused I'll list down the stuff which makes this story vary from the canon's world. Here Zabuza and Haku are still alive. Danzo is Hokage and Sasuke remains in Konoha. Jugo and Suigetsu are a part of the rebellion rather than being Orochimaru experiments. Mei Terumi is a lot younger, 16 years old last chapter, and probably around 18 in this chapter. Kagura Karatachi is alive and Naruto's age, instead of being Boruto's age.**

**Back to story related stuff, please do continue to let me know what you all think. Like I said I already know what sword to give Naruto among the seven, but I'd love to hear what sword you would give our blonde knucklehead. Especially curious since the next chapter will reveal who gets what sword.**

**Also, many people have asked for this to be solely a NaruSaku story, but I'm not fully convinced yet, I'm not really leaning for either a NaruSaku or a NaruHarem, but I would like to know what you guys would prefer since that'll be what makes my decision. So please leave a review for what you think or send me a message.**

**This chapter also contains a fair amount of NaruShion, but fear not it'll probably just be this chapter unless we choose to go the NaruHarem route. But if we go to NaruSaku this is just a wee chapter showing off Naruto's escapades, I guess. To be honest I placed in the story because I'm also a big fan of NaruShion so I wanted to give them a few scenes. Hope you guys like it.**

**Thank you everyone for the support, I'm enjoying writing this story and I really hope this streak of consistency continues. Please favorite, follow and leave a review. It would greatly help my story.**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Defying Fate**

"What do you see Shion?"

Shion's pale lavender eyes stared straight into Naruto's cerulean eyes, her filled with dread. She trembled in fear as she clung onto his shirt, "You're going to die" she stuttered.

Naruto's demeanor did not change once upon hearing what she said, the young blonde merely chuckled before taking another drag off his cigarette.

"I'm going to die?" he asked, "Sorry Shion but that isn't happening".

Her expression changed from fear to anger in a matter of seconds, she knew that Naruto was here to protect her but sometimes she just wanted to kill him herself. He was infuriating, ever since his mission had started, he'd find ways to press her buttons. But over time she saw another side to Naruto, she saw the side of him that never gave up, the side that cared deeply for his friends, and the side that always fought for justice and righteousness. Despite him being infuriating at times, she knew he was a good man and that she was in safe hands.

Naruto on the other didn't fare that much better with the priestess at first, upon first meeting her he found her to be quite snobbish, entitled and cowardly, three of the qualities Naruto hated the most. But despite their obvious annoyance with one another, as luck would have it the young blonde was given the added responsibility of becoming Shion's personal bodyguard for the mission. But as time past between the two they began to grow less hostile with one another, Shion began to admire Naruto's courage and unwavering determination. While Naruto began to encourage Shion to let loose and have fun.

On the other hand, the mission had hit a bit of a fork in the road. True to the intel gathered the two swordsmen were spotted around the temple thanks to various surveillance measures posted by the rebellion. But as it turned out their recon on the two gave away the enemy's plot and from the sounds of things, this mission was far more important than just gathering two swords.

Jinin Akebino and Jinpachi Munashi the two swordsmen sent by Yagura had apparently allied themselves with a cultist medical ninja by the name of Yomi. Their goal being to release the demon known as Moryo, and according to the gathered intel the group was on its way to the temple where Moryo was sealed. Naruto and the rest of the group mutually agreed under no circumstances can they release Moryo, and so the two groups along with Shion were in the hunt for the three of them.

Naruto was placed in a group led by Zabuza, and with them was Haku and by default Shion, they were tasked with taking down Jinin Akebino, the wielder of the Kabutowari. The group was led by Ao, and he was accompanied by two of Naruto's closest friends in the rebellion, Suigetsu and Chojuro. Their mission was to take to down Jinpachi Munashi, the wielder of the Shibuki. But the main priority of this mission was Yomi, but they knew that to get to him they first had to go through the two swordsmen.

Today was the day before the big battle, the Kiri Revolutionaries all camped inside the temple where Moryo was sealed. They wouldn't let them past them to get to Moryo. Today the group focused on resting to gather their strength, and to form strategies for the ensuing fight. Zabuza having been a former colleague of theirs and fighting on their side for many years had made the necessary tactics to maximize their odds of winning.

Later during the night watches were placed in shifts, at this moment Naruto oversaw the watch while the others were asleep in their tents. Naruto sat by the temple ledges on lookout, he had two hours in his shift until Suigetsu would wake. He was brought out of his musings once he heard a voice call to him.

"You look like you need a bit of company"

Naruto turned around and saw Shion, "What are you doing up this late? You can catch a cold at this hour" he replied.

"I just couldn't sleep I guess, and then I saw you standing watch and I decided I might as well keep you company" replied the priestess.

Naruto chuckled softly before moving over in his seat to give her some room, she gladly sat by his side as they stared out into the night sky.

"Thanks" he muttered softly as Shion briefly glanced back at the boy, "It was getting a bit boring out here myself and I guess I could do with a bit of company".

A few minutes pass as the two sat in silence, both Naruto and Shion were far too entranced into the night sky. Stars were shining, and the full moon stood brightly.

"I never got to say thank you" said Shion as she caught the attention of Naruto. His piercing blue eyes stared straight into her own and it was only then she realized how much of a deep shade of blue they were, her face reddened slightly enough for Naruto to notice.

Naruto chuckled to himself as he saw the state of Shion, he wasn't as dense as he used to be. He knew that Shion was flustered and he decided to tease her a little bit.

"What brought this out suddenly? I'm just doing my job Shion-chan" he teased causing the priestess' blush to grow deeper.

"Shut up baka" she stuttered in response.

Naruto loved teasing women, in his time in the rebellion he had grown like his former sensei, Jiraiya of the Sannin. Not to say he was as perverted as his master by any means, as he grew older, he began to understand why Jiraiya succumbed to temptation when it came to alcohol or sex. Growing up the way he did, Naruto wanted nothing more than to not feel alone anymore.

Unknown to many of the revolutionaries, Naruto had an ongoing fling with Hotaru. The two kept it on the down low, there were never any feelings involved when it came to Naruto. He wasn't one to settle down, he had too many things to worry about and a relationship would just distract him at this point. That and he didn't want to drag other people into his own mess, he had a massive target and his back, and he guessed it would also carry over to his family if he were to have any.

"You know I have no intentions of dying tomorrow" he sai

Shion's eyes widened in shock, "You know my visions are never wrong. Why do you keep on insisting on seeing this mission through? You don't have to die, just run away or call for reinforcements to replace you or something" she exclaimed.

"I can't and I won't, I wouldn't put the lives of other people in danger just to save my own hide. I didn't become a ninja to let other people fight my battles for me" he replied.

A few stray tears cascaded down Shion's cheeks, "You're a good man Naruto, thank you for risking your life for me and for my land. I'm sorry for the way I treated you, I never deserved to be protected by you" she said as her body trembled in fear and sadness.

Naruto placed one of his hands on hers to stop her trembling, "Don't say such foolish things. You're a good person Shion, the right kind of person to lead your land. And like I said earlier, I can promise you I won't die" he said in a confident tone.

Shion was left speechless, her body burned up at the touch of his hands and her mind was reeling at his words. She knew herself that she was never wrong when it came to her predictions, but the way Naruto spoke it had almost convinced her that maybe what she saw was a mistake. Never had she seen such confidence in a person, Naruto believed he wouldn't die and for some strange reason or another, Shion began to believe it to.

The priestess began to laugh softly as she scooted closer to Naruto, she placed herhead on his shoulders never letting go of his hand.

"Well then you better promise me you come back. I won't forgive you if you prove me right" she muttered softly.

Naruto's hand gently squeezed hers, "Don't worry, I never break my promises" he replied as thoughts of his old team surfaced in Naruto's mind. His promise of a lifetime, if anything it felt like a lifetime ago when that happened.

The Following Day

"Hey Naruto, Shion wake you two"

Naruto's eyes fluttered open as he saw his friend Chojuro standing in front of them inside his tent.

"What's going on Chojuro?" he asked.

"They've been detected, our targets are meant to be here in an hour according to our intel. So, get ready, we have breakfast ready so eat up" he said before leaving the tent.

Naruto yawned loudly before wiping his eyes, he glanced to his left to see Shion, the priestess had decided to sleep in Naruto's tent from the night before just after their heartfelt moment during his shift of the watch. Of course, nothing had happened, but he allowed her to stay with him if it made her feel safer and if it gave her comfort.

The young blonde began to shake the priestess lightly as she woke from her slumber, another blush was seen on her face as she began to understand where she was. Memories of last night flashed before her and even though nothing had happened between them, it was still the most romantic moment of her life. Being a priestess, she was shielded away from romance, focusing directly on her duties as a priestess. But then this random boy from the Kiri Revolution came around, and now things weren't as straightforward as it used to be for her.

"Hey Shion-chan wake up, we need to get ready apparently they'll be here in an hour" he said as Shion was removed from her flustered state.

"I see in that case we'll be ready" she said before grabbing his hand, "Remember your promise to me".

A small smile graced Naruto's face at the heartfelt moment between him and the priestess, he never expected them to be as close as they were seeing how they practically hated each other during their first meeting. But here they were now, Naruto could see that she began to care for him and even he had to admit he began to take a liking to the girl. Feeling a bit adventurous today he slowly leaned in capturing her lips with his own.

Shion's eyes widened in shock as her body froze, she didn't expect something like this from him. It took her a moment but once she regained her composure, she began to reciprocate the kiss. The two stayed locked in their kiss for a few seconds before Naruto drew back.

"Don't worry Shion-chan I'll come back alive" he reassured.

The priestess smiled back at the young blonde before leaning over to give him a big hug. She stayed in that position for a couple minutes not wanting to let go.

* * *

**One Hour Later**

Naruto stood in front of the temple's northern entrance, his hand directly on his sheathed katana. By his side stood Zabuza and Haku, and behind them in a safe distance stood Shion. The group was waiting for the arrival of their opponents.

The second group led by Ao and accompanied by Chojuro and Suigetsu, were stationed in the southern entrance. According the reports Jinpachi Munashi was going to infiltrate through the south entrance and as such the group led by Ao would be the ones to counter his attack. Meanwhile Naruto and his team were waiting for Jinin Akebino to arrive with Yomi in tow.

The young Naruto was unwavering in the face of danger, his sensory skills could feel the approaching enemy step by step as he inched closer to their location. And just like that the four of them saw a silhouette in the distance. The enemy was far away, but the four of them knew exactly who it was. The man stood back staring straight into the temple, from the looks of things he seemed to know that they would be here to defend it.

In a matter of seconds, the enemy ninja sprinted towards temple, Jinin ran with the Kabutowari in hand ready to deliver a devastating opening blow to his opponents.

The group led by Zabuza were also alerted once they heard explosions going off into the distance.

"Tch, it seems Jinpachi just got here as well" Zabuza muttered to himself before turning his direction back to his old companion Jinin, "It's been a long time Jinin".

"Been far too long Zabuza, now show me what you got" he replied before jumping up into the air, he was about to deliver a powerful jumping attack to where Zabuza stood. But Zabuza jumped away in time, instead of Zabuza, Jinin's sword connected with the group and it left a crater in its attack.

"Watch out you two, the Kabutowari if used properly can deliver powerful attacks. It relies on brute strength and trust me, Jinin has brute strength" he said as he glided through the air.

A small grin was seen on the enemy's face, "You give me too much praise Zabuza" he said before lifting his sword from the ground.

There was dust all over the area where Jinin stood, his attack had really left a mark in the ground. Through the large dust cloud emerged another figure. Up into the sky the group was distracted by the sight of Yomi jumping into the air.

Zabuza's eyes widened when he realized that Jinin was meant to be a distraction. He was about to jump after Yomi and chase him but while he was distracted, he failed to see Jinin appear just by his side.

'When did he get so fast?' he thought to himself in distress.

Jinin then delivered a powerful attack with the hammer side of his Kabutowari straight into Zabuza's torso. He was sent flying into the air effectively knock out by that one hit.

"Zabuza-sama" yelled Haku.

"Don't worry brat he's not dead, I know Zabuza and he won't die from just one attack. Man, he's gotten weaker since I last saw him, if he had his old sword with him, he may have stood a chance" explained Jinin.

Naruto's grip on his katana tightened upon seeing Zabuza get defeated in one hit, this wasn't looking good for him, but it was not the time to start panicking. The young blonde steeled himself before turning to face his colleague, Haku.

"Haku go after Yomi. Let me hand this guy" he ordered as he brought her out of her state of shock.

"But Naruto he defeated…"

"But nothing Haku, just do as I said and trust me" he exclaimed before turning to face Haku. The Ice user's eyes widened in shock as she saw the look of excitement in Naruto's face, she could see a large array of emotions running through the boy's face. There was excitement, a little bit of fear, but not a single trace of doubt.

"Just trust me Haku. There's no way in hell I'm going to lose to this guy".

Haku sighed before nodding at Naruto, "Very well I trust you Naruto-kun" she said before jumping away to chase after Yomi.

Now Naruto was left to fight Jinin, one on one. The swordsmen began to laugh as he watched Naruto's interaction with his teammate, it was completely and utterly laughable to him that a complete nobody like Naruto believes he had a shot of winning against him.

"You're a ballsy little kid, aren't you?" he said before releasing a large amount of KI into the air, "You better say your prayers brat since I don't take too kindly to insults" he said before jumping towards Naruto about to deliver another attack.

The young blonde saw this coming and jumped back a few meters as he weaved through hand seals.

"**Water Release: Water Fang Bullet**" he yelled as he sent compact projectiles of water hurling towards his opponent. Jinin used his sword and with its axe side simply sliced through the large body of water.

"You're going to have to do better than that to beat me brat" he yelled.

"Tch damn, this guy is strong" he muttered softly before quickly going through yet another string of hand signs.

"**Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique"**

A large water dragon emerged from the nearby bodies of water and was sent flying straight to his opponent.

Jinin grinned manically as he watched the jutsu come hurling towards him, "Not bad kid, but not good enough" he said as he weaved through his own seals.

"**Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall**" he yelled as a large wall of earth sprung forth from the ground to shield him from Naruto's attack.

"Now it's my turn".

"**Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears"**

Spikes began to shoot up from the ground, Naruto managed to jump back just in time, but he didn't have much room to breathe since as soon as he jumped back Jinin appeared directly in front of him ready to strike. He swung his sword down on Naruto, but thankfully the young blonde managed to unsheathe his katana just in time to block the combined attack of the Kabutowari's axe and hammer.

The blonde was lucky to have placed wind chakra on his sword because had he not then his katana would have been destroyed in an instant, and he would've had his head split open. But despite Naruto narrowly escaping death, the force of the attack did leave a significant amount of damage on the young man. He was sent flying down to the ground unceremoniously, Naruto braced himself for impact and he was left winded and bruised at the powerful attack.

He coughed out a bit of blood before gingerly standing back up, he could hear a familiar voice in the distance cheering him on. He grabbed a hold of his katana and he knew he couldn't afford to lose.

"Don't you dare die Naruto" Shion yelled in the distance.

Jinin began to grow annoyed at the cheerleader standing by the sides, he decided it was best to get rid of her while the boy was recovering. He quickly ran towards the priestess, he watched in delight as her eyes widened in shock and her body trembled in fear. He appeared before her in a matter of seconds and he towered over the priestess ready to deliver a killing blow to the defenseless girl.

Naruto saw this and grit his teeth, he dug into his resolve and sprinted as fast as he can to the priestess. He arrived just in time to push her away and in return he blocked the Kabutowari's attack with his katana once more. Naruto was left in a battle of strength with Jinin, his katana was only holding back from the raw power of the Kabutowari.

"Leave her out of this you bastard, your fight is with me" he said before kicking Jinin by the midsection giving Naruto the best chance to escape that unfavorable position. He quickly grabbed Shion and jumped back to a safe distance.

"Sorry about that, I'll try not to make you worry" he said to Shion as he held her in his arms. Once they were in a safe distance, he let go of Shion and made sure she hid somewhere where she would be safe. Jinin was still recovering from the kick delivered to his solar plexus and this gave Naruto the perfect opportunity to strike.

Naruto summoned a single shadow clone and the two of them completed two separate sets of hand seals.

"**Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique"**

"**Wind Release: Gale Palm"**

The two techniques were used in cooperation of each other, an incredible amount of shuriken was summoned by Naruto and the strength of the projectiles was further enhanced by the wind jutsu.

The swordsman was beginning to feel annoyed at the boy, he grabbed his sword and he swung the hammer down onto the ground to effectively creating a large wall of earth to shield him. He didn't have time to go through the seals so improvising on the spot would do.

"Prepare to get your ass kicked you jerk" yelled Naruto as he followed up with another attack.

"**Water Release: Water Colliding Wave"**

He began to create a large spiraling vortex of water and he immediately sent it to attack his opponent. Jinin was surprised to see such a powerful jutsu from his opponent, serves him right for undermining him from the get-go. It seems that the loudmouth blonde had a bit more tricks up his sleeve than he initially thought.

"Two can play at this game brat" he yelled as he summoned his own water vortex, "You aren't fighting just an ordinary Jonin gaki, you're fighting one of the Seven Swordsmen so prepare to die".

"**Water Release: Water Colliding Wave"**

The two vortexes collided violently. The area was drenched in water but both Naruto and Jinin managed to keep their footing despite the large force of water trying to blow them away. Neither one of the fighters wanted to give an inch in this battle. Jinin immediately took on the offensive the second the water began to disperse.

"**Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet"** he yelled as a large mud dragon sprang forth from the ground and flew towards the blonde ninja.

Naruto stood his ground, "**Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere**" he yelled as he blew out a large sphere of compressed air towards the dragon. The two jutsus ended up negating each other, and during the middle of the attack, Naruto sprung forth on the offensive.

The blonde exhaled wind chakra onto his blade, once again using the **Wind Release: Vacuum Blade** to strengthen and sharpen his katana. He instantaneously appeared in front of Jinin catching the man by surprise. The man jumped back upon seeing Naruto, the blonde on the other hand plunged his sword towards Jinin's heart but the man was able to narrowly dodge the killing blow. But luckily for Naruto his strike managed to land on his left shoulder.

Jinin winced in pain as he nursed his bloodied shoulder, "Fuck that stings. You'll pay for that gaki" he yelled as he sprinted towards Naruto. He swung his axe towards the blonde, Naruto managed to block it just in time but the Kabutowari's hammer end connected with the axe adding a powerful force to the swing. For the second time this fight Naruto was unable to hold his ground from the devastating attack and he was sent flying like how Zabuza was a few minutes ago.

"Tch that should keep his ass down, now where the hell is that priestess" he muttered to himself, Jinin briefly closed his eyes and began to search for Shion's chakra signature. He later found her hiding somewhere within the temple. But just before he could walk inside the temple, he heard a raspy voice scream from afar.

"I told you that your fight is with me, and as long as I breathe, I won't let you harm Shion" Naruto yelled in the distance as he prepared as a large amount of water began to gather by the blonde.

Shion watched from afar in awe of the fight, she felt utterly helpless in this situation. Naruto was out there fighting and risking his life as she sat there only to be protected by her fellow blonde. She wanted nothing more but to help Naruto, but she knew that she would only hinder him, he needed to fight him without having to worry about anything or anyone else.

"**Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique"**

Naruto expelled an incredible amount of water in the shape of a waterfall down onto Jinin, the man's eyes widened as he braced himself for the incoming attack. The large water jutsu connected and Jinin had to use all his strength and an incredible amount of chakra on his feet to keep himself from getting washed away by the powerful force of the water.

The attack left Jinin heaving and soaked in a mixture of blood and water, and yet he continued to stand strong in front of his opponent. Then in front of him jumped Naruto, but the blonde was too slow. Jinin managed to impale him with the Kabutowari.

Shion watched in fear as Naruto was impaled by the sword, "Naruto" she yelled in distress as tears fell from her face. This was the exact scene her vision foretold, and despite all of Naruto's promises it appeared that her vision had come to fruition. She dropped down to her knees as she screamed in agony, tears cascading down her face.

"You promised me you wouldn't die" cried the priestess.

"I got you know brat, say your prayers" Jinin said with venom. But before he could finish Naruto off, he saw a small smirk on the boy's face. Before the swordsman could react, Naruto exploded, and he was blasted away to a safe distance.

'**Clone Great Explosion**?' he thought to himself, 'He must've used it immediately after his water jutsu'.

"I won't die so easily, but you've been a tough opponent for me Jinin Akebino. I can respect a warrior such as yourself, but now it's time for me to give you a warrior's death" yelled Naruto.

Shion's eyes widened in shock upon realization that her vision was proven false, she quickly got back to her feet as she wiped her tears away. As the smoke dispelled her eyes landed immediately on the blonde who stood a good few meters away from the swordsman.

'He's alive! Thanks Kami' she thought to herself.

"Prepare to die" yelled Naruto as he summoned a thick fog to consume the area.

"**Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu"**

Jinin braced himself to a defensive position, a cocky grin on his face. He closed his eyes shut since visibility was hampered, he chose to focus on his sense of hearing and smell. He also began to put more focus on his sensory skills to detect where Naruto was.

"Surely you can't expect to defeat me with this technique. This is the famed jutsu of the Seven Swordsmen, this is our jutsu. No one knows this jutsu more than us" he taunted.

"Hm that's where your wrong Jinin, you may be able to detect me, but you won't have enough time to react to my attack" replied the blonde.

Naruto stood a few meters away with two shadow clones behind him, and his wind enhanced sword by his hand. His two clones weaved through hand seals.

"**Wind Release: Gale Palm**" they yelled before expelling an incredibly strong gust from their hands.

Immediately as soon as the jutsu was completed, Naruto jumped up towards his clone's hands to accelerate his movements to an incredible rate.

"Naruto Stream" he yelled as he appeared in front of Jinin within a second, and in that window of opportunity he pierced his katana straight through the man's heart.

Jinin's eyes widened in shock, 'When did he get here?' he asked himself. But it was too late, he felt the blade go through his body, and the man spat out blood.

'I'm going to die' he thought to himself before staring straight into the cold blue eyes of his killer.

"What's your name?" he asked in a very raspy and haggard voice.

"Naruto Uzumaki"

"Hm I'll remember that" he replied before dropping unceremoniously on the ground. Naruto's hand reached out for the blade embedded into his opponent's lifeless form. He picked it up and wiped away the blood before sheathing it back. He then walked over to the Kabtuowari laying on the ground, a large smile appeared on the young man's face as he grabbed the sword. Naruto quickly sealed it up into one o his storage scrolls before summoning a shadow clone.

"Go grab Zabuza and carry him over, he's going to be knocked out for a while".

The original Naruto walked back over to the temple and there he saw Shion standing there with an unreadable expression on her face.

"Hey, look I guess I'm still alive" he joked.

Shion stormed over to Naruto with an evident rage, as soon as she got face to face with the blonde, she delivered a loud and powerful slap straight to his cheek.

Naruto was left dazed and confused by the resounding slap, his hand quickly reached up to his cheek to nurse it. Shion immediately pushed his hand away, grabbed his face and crashed her lips against his.

The two soon separated from their lip lock, their eyes still staring straight into each other's. A wide grin formed on Naruto's face as the two held each other closely.

"As much as I would love to stay in the position were in, we have to go look for the others" he said, Shion realized the position they were in and quickly took a step back. She was clearly flustered as seen on her reddened face. Naruto then grabbed her and carried her bridal style before running to meet with the rest of his team.

Naruto ran quickly over to the middle of the temple where Moryo was sealed, so far, he had yet to hear further explosions and he hadn't felt any dark chakra, so he was confident that his team had been successful. As he ran closer to the designated area a smile grew on Naruto's face as he gazed upon a few familiar faces. There stood the rest of his team, all bloodied and injured but alive, nonetheless.

"Hey guys, I'm glad you're alright" he said as he approached the group.

Suigetsu had a smug grin on his face as he watched Naruto run towards them, he looked far worse for wear than the rest of them.

"You look like shit" he said.

Naruto chuckled softly, "Well you should see the other guy" he replied as he let Shion and Zabuza down.

The rest of the group noticed Zabuza's unconscious floor laying on the ground, the ninjas walked over to inspect the man.

"Is he alright? He seems to be breathing that's good" mentioned Haku as she checked her master's pulse.

Naruto nodded in return, "Yeah he should be safe, he got knocked out by the guy's surprise attack. I'm sure when he comes to, he wouldn't be quite pleased. Personally, I'll never let him hear the end of it" he said in a humorous tone.

"Did you have to take on Jinin-senpai all on your own? I know Haku-san was busy fighting Yomi" stuttered Chojuro.

"Yeah it was a tough battle that guy was the real deal. But thankfully I won in the end, and I got his sword" replied the blonde as he handed over the storage scroll to Ao.

Ao gladly took the scroll and nodded gratefully to Naruto, "Well done Naruto-san, I must say I had some inhibitions about you but you're quickly proving me wrong" he replied causing a surprised reaction from the embarrassed blonde.

"So how was your fight?" asked the blonde.

"Well it was difficult, as presumed Jinpachi proved to be a formidable opponent. But he proved to be no match for our combined efforts, and as a result we managed to retrieve the Shibuki as well. This day has turned out to be quite fruitful for our cause, we took out two of the Swordsmen, acquired their swords, accomplished our mission, with no casualties answered Ao.

Shion then spoke gathering the attention of the ninjas, "Well I for one am grateful for all your services, you've all risked your lives for me and in return my country and I will support your cause without hesitation" she said as the ninjas all smiled proudly at their accomplishment.

"Now we must return to the palace, we will offer you food and shelter there until you all recover. We will also celebrate your successful mission" the priestess added on.

* * *

**Later that Night**

The group of ninjas sat by the dining room and in front of them was banquet of food, in the side they were also served some of the finest wine and sake. Of course, the ninjas took advantage of this and for the rest of the night they feasted, drank and shared stories amongst one another.

Of course, there was a hearty banter shared amongst the boys of the rebellion. Of course, the main culprits being, Naruto, Suigetsu and Zabuza. The latter was on the receiving end of a few mocking remarks about how he fared during his fight.

"If I had my Kubikiribōchō before my injuries it would've been a completely different story" he would always say in return.

The entire group enjoyed their banquet, and with them were Shion and her fellow priests. Priests were quite surprised and somewhat disgusted at the barbaric way the men behaved. But then again, they couldn't complain seeing how they practically saved their kingdom. Shion on the other found the group to be lively and quite funny, it was rare to have such a spirited dinner in the temple.

Eventually the group's laughter died down as the night closed in, the ninjas were exhausted after their fights today and it was nearing time for them to rest and recover. But in the dying moments of the dinner, Shion popped a question which silenced everyone in the table, leaving them speechless.

"So how about it, Naruto? My powers need to be passed down onto the next priestess. Do you want to help me Naruto?" she asked.

Ao dropped the chopsticks in his hands realizing the implications of what Shion had just said. Around the table all the priests were dead silent, unable to mutter a single word of protest or approval.

Haku continued eating her food as she chuckled softly at the scene in front of her, by her side Zabuza sat turning his head from Naruto to Shion. Chojuro blushed up a storm, and Suigetsu was writhing in a mixture of agony and jealousy.

"Dammit Naruto, first Hotaru and now this. I'd been hitting on Hotaru for months and all I ever get is a slap to the face. How the hell did you seduce the priestess you lucky bastard" he yelled in distress.

Naruto continued staring at Shion's face during the entire encounter he chuckled as he admired the amused look on her face. He shrugged in response as he replied nonchalantly.

"Yeah sure"

* * *

**With Naruto**

After the dinner had finished, Naruto had followed Shion to her personal room within the temple. He knew exactly what was going to go down, but inside he had a few inhibitions. He knew Shion was infatuated with him, and to be fair he was as well with her. But a part of him knew that they couldn't have a proper relationship, he wasn't one to settle down.

The two blondes sat by the edge of the priestess' bed, there was an awkward silence hanging above them and before anything else Naruto engulfed both her hands with his. He stared straight into her eyes and he could see just how flustered she was becoming at how quick everything was.

"Shion-chan, before anything happens, we need to have a talk, about this and about us" he said.

The priestess was too flustered to respond so instead not trusting her voice she nodded instead. Naruto continued holding her hand as a he breathed out a long sigh.

"Shion-chan, I really like you. You're a beautiful and amazing girl, but I just don't think I can give you what you want. I know you want a relationship but I'm just not that kind of guy. At least not now, and probably not for a very long time. I know I promised I wouldn't die, but in my line of work death is something you can expect, and I wouldn't want you to continue worrying about me every day of your life" he said as tears began to cascade down Shion's cheeks.

The priestess removed one her hands from Naruto's grasp and used it to caress his cheek, "I know about all that, and I don't care" she replied.

"But you should, and to be completely honest with you Shion-chan I don't know if I can ever reciprocate your feelings to me fully. You deserve someone that will love you, but I can't be that guy"

Shion's eyes widened as she realized what he meant, "You're still in love with another girl aren't you?" she asked.

Naruto nodded meekly, "Yeah I am. But unfortunately, she will never return my feelings, hell I don't know if I'll ever get to see her again anyway" he said in a melancholic tone.

"Why can't you just move on?" she asked.

"I honestly don't know, there's been times where I could just fully move on with someone else but every time that happens a part of me can't. I don't know what it is, I can't get her out of my stupid head"

"What was she like?"

The blonde ninja chuckled mirthlessly, "Well she was my teammate a long time ago, and she was one of a kind for sure. She was smart, strong and under her tough exterior she was kind. But I know it'll never happen, she's in love with my other teammate. Besides she's they're both in Konoha, and I'm here as a Kiri ninja now" he answered.

"You were from Konoha?"

"Yeah it's a long story. One I'd rather not revisit sorry"

Shion nodded in understanding, "Don't worry I understand Naruto-kun" she said before capturing his lips with her own.

"But remember despite all that let me tell you one thing, you deserve happiness Naruto-kun. Even if it isn't with her, or with me, you still deserve to be happy, and don't ever forget that"

He smiled as he captured her in a tight hug, "Thank you Shion-chan, I really mean that" he said.

"I want you to promise me"

"Promise you what?" asked Naruto.

"I want you to promise me that you'll be happy one day"

He chuckled in response, "You know I can't break promises, alright I'll promise you Shion-chan" he replied.

The priestess caressed his whiskered cheeks one more time, "I want to be with you Naruto-kun but I know that probably won't happen, but while you're here please let me be loved by you" she pleaded.

Naruto kissed Shion passionately and throughout the night the two made love to each other, it was intense being the priestess' first time, but Naruto was gentle to her. He made turned her into a woman, but during the entire experienced he catered to her since it was a special moment for Shion.

Inside he felt a bit guilty, he knew he couldn't control his feelings. He wanted to give the priestess all the love and affection she deserved but he knew he couldn't love her when he obviously yearned for another. In a way he felt strongly for her, but it couldn't equally reciprocate her feelings. This scenario has happened in the past for Naruto, he's had women in his life come and go, he tried to love them, but he knew he couldn't love them the way they deserved.

At first it was Hotaru, one of his closest friends in the rebellion. The two had gotten close as friends initially, but eventually she caught feelings for her fellow blonde. Naruto tried his best to reciprocate his feelings for her, but it just wasn't there for him. Like Shion, he felt strong emotions for her, but they just weren't enough. Instead the two opted for a stable relationship as friends with benefits. The war had forced the group of teenagers to grow up quicker than most, and it was during these times of trial Naruto and Hotaru would find each other for physical comfort.

Second was Shizuka, she was a warrior princess Naruto had come across by the forestation surrounding Nadeshiko Village, the village of women. The two had fought a fierce battle with Naruto barely winning in the end, and eventually their rivalry blossomed to friendship which later evolved into physical attraction. Thankfully for Naruto, Shizuka's motive wasn't purely emotional either. She was coping with the loss of her past lover, and she and Naruto had used to each other to try and forget about their losses.

Now there was Shion, she was special to Naruto and in a different world he could've seen himself settling down with her. So, for her first he made sure to be as gentle and loving as possible. The night was magical for the two, the haze of lust and affection clouded the two blondes for the next few hours, and the following nights before Naruto's departure.

* * *

**With Yagura**

The Mizukage sat by his office fuming at the news he had just received. He hadn't heard from his two swordsmen in quite some time, so he sent ANBU to try and locate them. Instead of finding them successful in their mission, the ANBU operatives found three burial sights by Moryo's temple, and it didn't take a genius to figure out that it was their grave.

Yagura was left in a dilemma, he had just lost two of the famed seven swords, and worse of all they went to his main enemy. He knew that with each passing the rebellion was slowly getting stronger, and now they were posing a bigger threat than ever. All Kiri had left was the Nuibari since the rebellion held five of the swords, and Kisame was a missing nin and with him was the Samehada.

The Mizukage was brought out of his musings when he heard a soft knock on the door of his office.

"Come in" he ordered and as soon as the door opened a tall and lanky man walked in. The man had long and shaggy hair, and his face was covered by a white porcelain ANBU mask.

"You asked for me Mizukage-sama?" asked the man.

The Mizukage nodded, "Hai Kushimaru, things have not turned out as I planned and now the rebellion have made a tremendous leap in acquiring the Kabutowari and the Shibuki. Not to mention killing both Jinpachi and Jinin. You're the last remaining swordsman loyal to Kiri, and because of your special skill set I'll need you to do something for me" he explained.

"What do you need Mizukage-sama?"

"To deal with the rebellion I believe you need to hit them where it hurts. You're a master assassin Kushimaru and for that you were given the Nuibari. With that sword and your skillset, I want you to go and assassinate Mei Terumi. She's the leader of the rebellion, young as she may be she's proven to be a natural leader rallying the rebellion"

Kushimaru nodded in understanding, "It shall be done Mizukage-dama" he replied as he bowed down in respect to his Kage.

* * *

**With Mei**

She was sitting in a dainty old roadside tavern, there were a few people partaking in all the merriment, but the woman was busy speaking to the hooded man sitting just behind her seat. The two had their backs opposite of one another to try and evade any suspicions.

"So, what have you heard so far?" asked the auburn-haired woman.

"Well according to my sources two big things are happening, and it involves the two final swords you and your rebellion seeks" replied the man.

Mei's eyes widened in shock before composing herself a few seconds later, "What's the news then?" she asked.

"First involves the Nuibari, according to my sources within the Mizukage's tower in Kirigakure. Yagura has sent Kushimaru Kuriarare to tail you from a distance and assassinate you. Yagura believes that by disposing of you, the leader, it will send the rebellion into a disarray"

A small smile graced the beauty's lips, "Well if they want to kill me they're going to have to send someone a lot stronger. I can use this information to lure him out into an ambush, and then the Nuibari will be ours" she muttered in excitement.

"The second piece of news involves the Samehada, my spies have informed me that Kisame Hoshigaki is seen travelling alongside Itachi Uchiha around the Kusagakure area. Rumors state that they're in search of Orochimaru's hideout along the area, and from what I've heard it's not meant to be a friendly visit"

"Ah so Akatsuki plan to attack Orochimaru's hideout, do you know what the motive is?"

"According to my sources the snake has a fair amount of research going on down by his hideout, my guess is that Kisame and Itachi are there to try and seize the research for their faction, the Akatsuki".

Mei nodded in understanding, "Hm I see if that's the case I could send a squad to ambush them when they're at their weakest. It'll be risky knowing how strong those two are, but if we want to win this war, we'll need the help of the seven swords. Kisame was always the individual the rebellion had feared the most other than Yagura, and now it looks like it was time for them to hunt the shark.

"Is there anything else you wish to reveal?" asked Mei.

"There is one final thing, it is unfortunate news but from what I've heard Konoha has recently staged an attack on Sunagakure. It appears to be revenge on Suna for attacking Konoha a few years ago. Unfortunately, I hate to say this, but Konoha was successful in their attack within a few days. Suna was at the weakest it's ever been, and it couldn't offer up much resistance. In the end the village was annexed by Konoha, the current Kazekage Gaara no Subaku was removed from his position. Danzo Shimura the Godaime Hokage chose an ambassador to serve as the village's leader, and he chose his star pupil and apprentice, Sasuke Uchiha. From the looks of things, the old hawk is already planning ahead and preparing his successor"

"That certainly is bad news, Naruto-kun wouldn't like to hear this news when he returns" she said.

"Well that's basically all I had to say, I'm going to stand up and walk out, remember to stay behind at least ten minutes after me. I don't want any unwanted attention towards us, we have to act like we don't know each other" he ordered.

"Hai, I know don't worry"

"Before I leave please make sure to send my regards to Naruto-kun" said the informant as he stood up and slowly made his way to leave the bar.

Mei stayed there sitting by her stool in the tavern. In front of her was a bottle of sake, she decided to indulge herself a little bit as she thought about everything that's happened these past few years.

Naruto joining the rebellion was one of the biggest events in these past few years, other than Naruto's skills in the battlefield, he managed to contribute in ways the entire rebellion couldn't believe. They found it unimaginable how a young teenage boy had managed to gain them so much support from other lands. Since Naruto was a good friend of both Tazuna and Koyuki Kazehana both village leaders chose to support the rebellion.

Tazuna led the Land of Waves and they formed houses and shelter for the rebellion, and they also sent food and funds to the war effort in secret. Koyuki on the other hand was the Daimyo of the Land of Snow, and she supported the rebellion also by funding them, but with their technology they formed weapons to be used by the rebellion's ninjas. Both leaders owed Naruto their life, and this was their own way of showing their gratitude to the courageous blonde.

But despite the important roles of both Tazuna and Koyuki, the greatest thing Naruto brought with him when he joined was the legendary Jiraiya's spy network. Before facing off the ninjas chasing after his godson, Jiraiya made sure to give Naruto a small notebook detailing his entire spy network, and as a result the spy network as now ran by the blonde.

When he felt more comfortable in the rebellion, he chose to trust two of the higher ups in the chain of command, he felt that it would be safe to tell them. Naruto had chosen to inform Mei and Zabuza, other than those two no one else knows about the spy network. With the blonde away in missions, Mei and Zabuza would use the spy network to find out rumors and intercept plans, and luckily the spies were more than willing to cooperate with Naruto and his new comrades.

It was especially pleasing when it showed just how deep and resourceful Jiraiya's spy network was, the spies and informants all varied. Some were simple tavern owners, others were maids, and some were even high up politicians and councilmembers in certain villages. Thankfully one of them being Kirigakure.

Mei smiled contently herself, that energetic blonde had really changed the course of the rebellion without even lifting a kunai. Just the mere presence of the blonde had given the rebellion sponsorships and a consistent wealth of information regarding their enemies. She was truly glad to allow him to join and she had him to thank for many of the rebellion's strides.

In fact, the auburn-haired beauty had licked her lips thinking about the blonde hero.

'You continue to impress me Naruto-kun' she thought to herself.

* * *

**With Shion**

The priestess had tears sliding down her cheeks as she stood in front of her blonde lover, the man that had turned her into a woman. It was finally the day he was meant to leave; his team was now fully recovered, and they were being sent back by their leader as soon as possible.

"I'm going to miss you" she said.

Naruto smiled as he used his thumbs to brush away her tears, "I'll definitely miss you too Shion-chan" he said before grabbing her chin and leaning over for one final kiss. After a few seconds the two separated and Naruto began to walk away with the rest of his group.

In the distance he raised his hand, "Goodbye Shion-chan" he yelled.

The priestess smiled softly as she watched her blonde love leave. It was a bittersweet moment for Shion, just earlier that day she experienced a vision and in it she saw another vision of Naruto, a noticeably older version of the blonde. In the vision he fulfilled his promise to her, he was happy but with another woman. It made Shion smile, a heartbroken feeling swelled up in her chest at the knowledge that Naruto will never be with her, but she was happy that he would be happy in the future.

'Go get your girl Naruto-kun' she thought to herself as she smiled at the bittersweet emotions toiling inside her.


	3. The Next Generation

Seven Swords

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

**Author's Notice: Hey guys I was meant to post this last week, but writing got a bit delayed, so sorry about that. But I'm happy with this chapter, it was a mission to write but in the end I managed to put it out. Lots of stuff have been going on for this fic, and I'm glad and thankful to all of you for the support. The story is quickly rising in favorites and follows, and I am grateful about that. I'm glad that a lot of you have been enjoying it, especially since I've been enjoying writing it.**

**Now I'd like to talk to you guys about the aspects of this story, as for pairings a large majority have asked for NaruSakuHarem so I'm going to go with that. The harem will include Sakura, Mei, Shion, Hotaru and Karin. I don't know if I'll add a sixth but if I do here are the options: Fu, Temari or Ayame. When I thought about the course of the story it made sense to make it as such since the clans and stuff were wiped out in Kiri and all during the bloody mist. But for those put off by this I'm sorry, but if this is any solace romance won't really be that big of a priority in this story. The story will focus a lot on the cool things to write about…like war.**

**Towards the end of this chapter you'll also see who gets what sword. I'm curious to know what you guys would've done in terms of the swords. Quite frankly I chose the swords and their wielders far before I wrote this story but even, so I enjoyed checking out everyone's opinions. But for this story I gave Naruto what I thought was the coolest of the seven swords, if you guys want to know what it is you'll have to read till the end.**

**Anyway, thank you everyone for the support, please continue to support by listing it in your favorites and follows. Also, if you have any questions or concerns, or if you just to put some story ideas out there please either pm me or leave a review, either which would be appreciated. Thanks guys I hope you all enjoy.**

* * *

**Chapter 3: The Next Generation**

Naruto and the rest of his company had just returned to the base a day ago, their mission in the Land of Demons proved to be fruitful. With Shion's support the rebellion was gaining more and more funding for the cause. That added by the support they received from the Land of Waves and the Land of Snow, the rebellion was able to support their troops with weapons, food, and shelter.

Adding Naruto within the ranks of the rebellion truly had its advantages. Since joining a few years ago, Naruto had grown to be a capable ninja heavily trusted by the higher ups and his peers alike. But due to his connections, he managed to rally a significant number of allies to their cause. Two being the Land of Waves and the Land of Snow, mainly due to Naruto's friendship with both Tazuna and Koyuki. Also due to his association to Jiraya, Naruto had access to the toad sage's spy network, and during this civil war the rebellion benefitted from intel.

Upon arrival they gave their report to Mei, and they were given the rest of the day off. But it wouldn't last very long since they were scheduled for another meeting the following day. Apparently, Mei had important news for the rebellion.

Gathered in the largest tent within the encampment stood the highest ranked ninjas within the rebellion. These men and women were the most powerful fighters in their army, all of them at least Jonin level in strength. Mei stood at the center of the tent as all eyes were focused on her as the ninjas lined up in a circle surrounding their auburn-haired leader.

"First and foremost, I have good news for you all. In our latest mission to the Land of Demons our troops managed to secure the continuous support of the Land of Demons, but also in the process we managed to kill Jinpachi Munashi and Jinin Akebino. As a result of that we are now in possession of two further swords, in our armory now stands the Shibuki and the Kabutowari" she exclaimed as the tent broke out into applause and cheers.

Naruto watched the group with a smile on his face, he could overhear the excited mumblings of his comrades and he could see the confident smiles growing on their faces. The crowd grew silent once more then Mei continued her speech.

"That leaves us with only two swords left to go, and recently I have uncovered key intel from our spy network. According to our information, the Mizukage has sent Kushimaru Kuriarare to assassinate me. Not only that but also there have been rumors of Kisame Hoshigaki travelling to Kusagakure to attack one of Orochimaru's bases. With knowledge on these two this gives us the opportunity to strike, and if we are successful, we can gather all seven swords"

"If what you say is true then we must be extra cautious Mei-sama" said one of the ninjas in the crowd.

"I agree Kushimaru Kuriarare is a skilled assassin, I used to work with him in ANBU and he is dangerous. If he is after you, you mustn't let your guard down" said another man.

Mei nodded in agreement, "Do not worry I am confident in my skills to defeat Kushimaru Kuriarare. This will be a gamble but my plan for him is for me to act as bait. He doesn't know that I have knowledge in his plans, and so we can use this to our advantage" she explained to the group.

"That could work Mei-sama, but regardless I believe we should station two secret bodyguards with you for the meantime".

The woman smiled at their protectiveness of her, she was touched because it showed that they respected her as their leader. She knew she was young and underqualified to be a leader among some eyes, but she was arguably the most powerful ninja among all of them. Not only that but she was the symbol of the rebellion, and so despite her youth and inexperience many grew to respect her in time.

"Don't worry I've already decided on who shall be my two bodyguards. I've chosen for both Chūkichi and Ao to watch over me. According to our information, Kushimaru Kuriarare should be here in around three days and when he does, I will lead him to his own death"

"Very well Mei-sama, I will trust in your judgement in this matter"

A few other mumblings of agreement spread amongst the group. Majority knew of how strong Mei Terumi was and from her confident tone, they could already tell she's laid out an intricate plan. They knew better than to doubt her, so instead they placed their trust in her.

"What about Kisame Hoshigaki? What plans do we have for him?"

"At this very moment Kushimaru Kuriarare is travelling with Itachi Uchiha by his side, the two are on their way to Kusagakure to steal Orochimaru's notes, research and experiments" she explained.

Jugo watched silently with Hotaru and Haku by his side. The latter two noticed Jugo tense and clench his fist upon hearing Orochimaru's name. Haku glanced at his fellow comrade offering him a comforting smile, while Hotaru patted him in the back.

"Thank you, it's just hard to hear his name again since it brings out anger in me. And I'd rather not get angry again, it's been a while since I've had to use it" he said earning a nod of appreciation from the two.

On another side of the circle Kagura, he was by himself as he listened intently to Mei. Thoughts about the Samehada suddenly sprung up in his mind, among the seven swords the Samehada was considered the strongest with only the Hiramekarei able to properly challenge it in strength. A vicious grin spread upon the young man's face.

'If I can get my hands on the Samehada, then I can finally avenge my parents. My grandfather will not stand a chance' he thought to himself.

Mei's voice rang out once more capturing the attention of the audience, "Their attack on the base will not be easy since it is one of the most heavily guarded bases Orochimaru holds. I plan on sending a large group of our ninjas to ambush them as soon as their fight is finished" she explained.

"Who do you plan on sending Mei-sama?"

"That will remain to be a secret for now, I plan on discussing it with my advisors and later tonight I will send for the shinobi that will take part in this mission. Once this meeting is over, I advise for all of you to rest but remain alert since if you are called you will have to leave as soon as possible" she answered.

Mei sighed in grief for what was to come next, good news aside she also brought with her some bad news. Recent news from Jiraiya's spy network had brought with her news concerning Konoha, and none of it good. She had heard stories of Konoha's tyrant of a Hokage, Danzo Shimura and it was safe to say he lived up to his reputation. She quickly glanced to Naruto; she knew he wasn't going to like the next bit of news.

"But good news aside, there are some bad news as well. It was made known to me that just a few days ago Suna was attacked and annexed by none other than Konoha" she said causing a loud gasp amongst the crowd. Her gaze focused on Naruto, the blonde seemed calm and collected in the outside, but Mei could tell that he was seething in anger.

"As of right now Konoha controls Suna and has placed troops around the village to ensure obedience. They had defeated and imprisoned the current Kazekage, the Ichibi Jinchuuriki Gaara no Subaku" she continued.

Naruto's eyes widened upon hearing his old friend's name, he was glad to hear that Gaara had gone on to become Kazekage, but he was livid at Danzo for his actions. Danzo had been the one responsible for the disappearance of both Jiraiya and Tsunade, and he was also the one who banished Naruto in the first place. It was safe to say Naruto had a bit of a grudge against the current Godaime Hokage.

"This is what concerns me since I visited two other trusted sources and I learned two bits of disturbing news. Danzo Shimura the Hokage of Konoha has now set his eyes on Takigakure. According to the intel, Konoha is attempting to gather themselves new Jinchuuriki with the loss of Kyuubi since Naruto-kun left and joined us. They've gathered the Jinchuuriki of the Ichibi, and now they're targeting a kunoichi named Fu. She is Takigakure's Jinchuuriki and she holds the Nanabi".

'That bastard just sees us as weapons. If I ever get the chance to fight that bastard, I will make sure he dies by my blade. He's caused nothing but pain and suffering' the blonde thought to himself.

"Other than Takigakure, apparently Danzo is also keeping an eye on Kirigakure. We've learned that he's waiting and biding his time until the end of the rebellion when either of the winning side is at its weakest. When that moment comes, he plans on attacking us and annexing our land as he did with Sunagakure" she finished as the camp burst into a loud argument. There was an obvious state of panic amongst the shinobi.

It was no secret that among the five great ninja nations, Konoha was considered the strongest. Iwa came in second, Kumo in third, Kiri in fourth and Suna in fifth. The military of Konoha was extremely powerful, while Kiri's was divided and left fighting against one another. Kiri is the weakest it's been for many years because of the division brought on by the bloodline wars. If fighting the Kiri government wasn't difficult enough already, having to fight Konoha afterwards would be near suicide.

Amongst the rabble and disarray stood Naruto, he stood silently as he watched his comrades' bicker and argue among one another. He saw Mei in the center trying to invoke order between the shinobi. Eventually the blonde's patience ran out, he released an incredible amount of chakra and KI into the air causing all the men and women inside the tent to grow silent.

Intimidation, this wasn't something Naruto used very often but it was a useful skill for times like these. He could see all the attention turn to him, some of the men and women had a shiver at the incredible potency of Naruto's chakra, while others had goosebumps run across their arms at the frightening KI released by the blonde.

Zabuza was among the few that remained unfazed, he chuckled softly as he watched his blonde student.

'Hm he has the KI to match any of us in our prime' he thought to himself as a small grin curled on his face, 'You may just have a bright future in swordsmanship brat'.

Naruto slowly paced to the center of the room by Mei's side, "I know all of you are scared right now, I know exactly what Konoha is capable of. I know it better than most, I was once a Konoha ninja after all. But despite the odds I know we can win; they fight for nothing but power. We fight for something bigger; we fight for the freedom of people and for the justice this country deserves. Their lust for power cannot defeat our ambition. We cannot let Konoha divide us further, if anything it should unite us to stand as one and prove the world wrong" he yelled as the shinobi were stunned.

The Kiri ninjas felt ashamed; it took a Konoha foreigner to bring them out of their panicked stupor. But then again Naruto wasn't really considered a foreigner anymore, he fought just as hard as them in battle if not more and as a result he had long since gained their respect and admiration. To the ninjas, Naruto was as much a Kiri ninja as they were. Soon after the crowd roared in approval, they were foolish for them to run and complain, if anything Konoha's interest in them meant that the rebellion was finally proving itself to be a legitimate danger.

Mei smiled as she watched Naruto continue to psyche the crowd. 'He really does know how to work a crowd' she thought to herself.

* * *

**Later that Night**

The meeting had long since finished, after Naruto's speech to the troops the shinobi left with a renewed vigor. They could tell that the rebellion was beginning to gather steam, and if given a few more years with this sort of momentum they may just soon finish the war once and for all.

Soon after the meeting Naruto retired to his tent but a few hours later he was called over to meet by the meeting room. He soon found himself in the same tent as just before with a few familiar faces standing in front of him. There inside he saw Mei standing in front of the group, by her side was Ao and Zabuza.

"I take it I'll be a part of one of the missions?" asked the blonde.

Mei nodded in confirmation, "Hai Naruto-kun, I apologize for sending you out again not that long after your last mission, but we need you. You're one of the few people who knows what Itachi Uchiha is capable of, and I know sending you out there is a risk because of the Kyuubi" she answered.

Naruto gently shook his head, "No need to apologize I completely understand, I know they're after me, but I am also confident in my ability. Besides this is a big mission for us, I wouldn't feel right myself if I wasn't a part of something like this" he replied.

"Arigato Naruto-kun, Kiri will always be indebted for your actions. Once this war is over you will be rewarded for your actions"

"I never did any of this for rewards" he muttered softly causing Mei to smile softly at the blonde. She was glad to have someone like him within their ranks, Naruto was a proven killer, but he had a heart of gold. She still couldn't believe Konoha treated a ninja like him the way they did.

"So, who's the rest of my team going to be?" he asked.

Before Mei could reply a voice was heard from the entrance the tent, "No need to be impatient Naruto, they're on their way" said the familiar voice.

Naruto smirked knowing who it was, "Good to see you again Utakata-san we haven't worked together for a while now" he said causing his fellow Jinchuuriki to chuckle.

"It really has been a while, but don't worry you won't be working with me on this operation" replied the man emitting a confused look from the boy, "You'll be working under me since I'll be leading the mission".

"Ah damn I hate taking orders from a slug like you" the blonde casually answered back.

Before the banter could continue a few more familiar faces arrived, casually a group of three other revolutionaries walked in. Naruto turned around only to see his friends Jugo and Hotaru, but just behind them was Naruto's rival, Kagura.

Naruto and Kagura had a strange relationship, among their age group Naruto was quite popular befriending the likes of Suigetsu, Chojuro, Jugo, Hotaru and Haku.

In a way this new group of his reminded him of his days in Konoha. Naruto was closest with Suigetsu, Chojuro and Jugo, the four boys had a knack of getting into trouble. In truth Jugo and Chojuro tended to be innocent, it was Naruto and Suigetsu who were the main troublemakers of the group. This camaraderie and brotherhood that he formed over the years reminded him of his friendship with Shikamaru, Choji and Kiba. Just four boys who had a knack for finding themselves in sticky situations.

Hotaru and Haku also reminded him of some of his old kunoichi friends. Haku would sometimes remind Naruto of Hinata, had she been a bit more confident. The two had the same level of gracefulness, compassion and selflessness which Naruto greatly respected.

Hotaru on the other hand had a stubborn and headstrong streak, but deep down she was a kind and gentle soul. That along with her blonde locks would sometimes remind Naruto of his acquaintance Ino, the two hadn't been particularly close but ever since the Chunin Exams Ino had begun to treat him a lot better than she used to.

That left Kagura, he and Naruto were rivals and if Naruto had to compare him to someone back in Konoha it would've been Sasuke. Naruto and Kagura were considered the two strongest ninjas in their generation, both were trained well by Zabuza and they both held an incredible mission success rate. Kagura much like Sasuke was hellbent on vengeance, Kagura was seeking to avenge the death of his parents from the hands of his tyrannical grandfather. In a way that and his strong sense of bloodlust rubbed Naruto the wrong way a lot of times. But despite all that he trusted his rival.

Not many words have been shared between the two, but they had a strong respect for one another, Naruto knew that Kagura was one of the most loyal and dedicated ninjas in their cause. He had saved his life several times from tricky situations, and the same vice-versa. Naruto took solace in the fact that despite his mission for vengeance, Kagura had never once let his personal desire cloud his judgement of affect the mission. He was a true warrior and someone Naruto could trust.

"Alright now that you're all here I want you five to prepare for what is to come. I have two other teams of five making their way to Kusagakure as well. In this scroll is the mission parameters and I want you five to leave as soon as possible to meet with the two other teams" she ordered before handing each of them a scroll.

* * *

**A Few Days Later**

Naruto and his company were quickly making their way to their designated location, once in Kusagakure they were to rendezvous with two other teams which consisted of former Kiri Jonin. The past few days the group had been traversing through the various forests surrounding Kusagakure.

"Damn it seems they may have gotten here early, now come one team we have to go look for the others" ordered Utakata as the group of Kiri ninjas ran an even faster pace. They followed the smell of smoke and the sound of explosions until they found themselves in front of a cave. According to their intel the cave was the secret entrance to Orochimaru's base, and from the smell and sound the cave was emitting it proved to be true.

Naruto whiffed the air and he could notice a strong scent of blood coming from the cave, the blonde knew then and there that they were in the right place. Without thinking the blonde made a few small steps towards the cave's entrance. Before he could move any closer, he felt a hand on his shoulder, he turned around to find Utakata shaking his head at him.

"Not yet, we should rendezvous with the others before we enter there. We wouldn't want to face them alone" he explained as Naruto nodded in understanding. The rendezvous point wasn't that far away from the base, it was meant to be by a forest clearing that was a couple hundred meters away from the cave. The group headed off quickly to gather with the rest of the men.

"That should be the place right there" said Utakata as he pointed towards the forest clearing. The group arrived a few seconds later but were surprised to see nothing.

"What? Where are they? Weren't they supposed to be here before us?" asked Naruto.

Utakata remained suspiciously silent as he observed the surroundings, "Something doesn't seem right" he muttered as the others caught wind of what the man had just said.

"Is everything alright Utakata-sensei? You seem worried" said Hotaru.

Utakata ignored the girl's remark and closed his eyes, he focused on sensing chakra and much to his surprise he could sense ten other chakra signatures around them. His eyes bolted open and he realized the truth.

"Kai" he yelled as he released chakra into the area. Not that long after that the empty forest clearing morphed to show ten bodies down on the ground.

The others were shocked to see the unconscious state of their comrades, "Check their pulses and see if they're alive" ordered Utakata. The group nodded and walked over to the fallen soldiers to check their vitals.

"This guy's still alive" yelled Naruto.

"This one too" said Jugo.

"Same here" said Hotaru.

The group continued to check their vitals and by the end all of them were alive and well, but they seemed unresponsive. This only meant one thing.

"If I had to guess these poor sods were attacked by a powerful genjutsu, I've dispelled the genjutsu placed on them, but I don't think they'll be of much use. That genjutsu seemed to have really taken a toll on them" said Utakata.

"Itachi Uchiha" Naruto muttered softly.

"What was that Naruto?"

Naruto turned to his commanding officer, "I know for a fact that this was done by Itachi, he specializes in genjutsu and is considered one of the strongest genjutsu users in the world" he replied.

"Hm that is worrying, it seems we may have underestimated our opponents, I didn't expect they could defeat ten Jonins by themselves".

"What should we do with them Utakata-san?" asked Jugo.

"And what will happen to the mission?" added Naruto.

"First off, I'm not sure what to do with the mission, if what Naruto said is true and this was done by Itachi Uchiha then it means we're in danger. We may have underestimated our opponents here".

"We can't back out now" exclaimed Naruto, "This is one of our best shots to get the Samehada, I don't think we'll get an opportunity like this again for a long time. You and I both know we need to do this".

"I agree with Naruto-kun" said Hotaru.

"I for one agree with Naruto, this is a chance of a lifetime and we'll regret this day if we don't capitalize" Kagura added.

Utakata then turned to Jugo, "What about you?" he asked.

"Where Naruto goes, I go" he replied. Naruto smiled at his friend, he truly appreciated Jugo's friendship. The friendly giant gladly accompanied the blonde anywhere, and with Naruto's penchant for attracting trouble the two of them had ended up in many battles together.

Jugo on the other hand was also deeply indebted to Naruto, he was grateful and fiercely loyal to the blonde seeing how he was the only person in the entire rebellion that could calm him down during his fits of rage. Whenever Jugo would use his curse seal it was only for the utmost emergencies, and it was because of Naruto he found a way to control and restrain his urges.

Utakata sighed in defeat, "You four really are a pain in my ass, but I guess you're right. We must do this for the rebellion, this could be what wins us the war. We'll leave these guys here for now, and we'll retrieve them once the mission is complete" he ordered.

* * *

**Orochimaru's Lair**

The five Kiri revolutionaries walked through the hidden lair, they had passed through various prison cells, a laboratory, and a torture chamber on their way to the innermost chamber. The smell of blood and the signs of fighting were clearly seen through the halls of the lair. Dead bodies were scattered across the floors, many of the bodies were burnt, and even more sliced up in half.

Usually a sight like this would have deterred even the most veteran shinobi, but these soldiers this was normal. Growing up and fighting this war had accustomed them to the scent and sight of blood, they were desensitized to death after years of being surrounded by it.

Jugo walked through these halls with a sense of anger brewing within him, for many years he was imprisoned, tortured and experimented on in a lair like this. He held a deep resentment for Orochimaru and everything he stood for, and he was forever thankful to the Kiri Rebellion for rescuing him in the first place.

The group made their way to the main room in the entire lair, and as they grew closer, they began to hear voices. The group was alerted immediately, they did their best to hide their chakra as they silently ran towards the source of the voices. Eventually they found themselves in an empty hallway and at the end of the hallway was a large busted up door. The voices grew louder as they approached the door.

They peaked through and glanced around the area to examine the terrain for the fight. At first glance it was obvious, they were in the fighting arena. From everyone's guess Orochimaru would've made his experiments battle here to prove who would be the strongest of them all.

"I think we found them" whispered Utakata as the rest nodded in agreement. The ninjas hid behind the door and they peaked in only to find their targets locked in battle against a single opponent.

The group were shocked to find someone find a way to stand up to both, granted she wasn't faring so well. But what caught the group by surprise was the powers of the kunoichi who tried her best to fend them off. They watched in awe as the blue-haired woman in front of them summoned crystals from the ground to protect her and the two teenagers behind her.

The group then noticed that her remaining company consisted of nothing but kids, they saw a crimson-haired girl who appeared to be around their age, watching from afar and shivering in fear. Beside her appeared a worried green-haired boy, he seemed to be around ten years old.

"We have to do something" said Naruto.

Utakata stared right at him, "Are you mad? The plan was to wait until the end" he hissed softly.

"I know but look at them, I doubt they would've done anything wrong. I mean that kid doesn't even look like he's a teenager yet, we can't just let them die. Besides maybe if we join in now, we can use the help of the crystal lady"

The Rokubi Jinchuuriki sighed he knew in good conscience that they should do something, "Dammit Naruto alright, we'll do it, but we have to be careful" he said.

"Yosh so what's the plan captain?" asked the blonde.

"Alright Naruto and I will attack from this side, once we have their attention, then Jugo and Kagura will sneak towards their blind spot and attack then from there. We'll pincer attack them" he explained.

"What about me sensei?" asked Hotaru.

"Hotaru since you're our only medic I want you to head over to the crystal lady and tend to their wounds, she may be useful for this fight. Once you reach them, help them evacuate to where we are standing right now and treat them as far away from the fight as you can".

"Hai"

"Alright here we go team"

Utakata and Naruto ran from their cover both preparing high level jutsus.

"**Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique"**

Both Naruto and Utakata released a large volume of water and sent it flying towards the two Akatsuki members, both Itachi and Kisame were taken by surprise but they were able to react quick enough to shield themselves from the attack.

Itachi jumped high enough to avoid the incoming collision, while Kisame braced with Samehada in his hand.

"Hm it looks like we have company" said a grinning Kisame.

Itachi on the other hand looked indifferent, "So it does" he replied.

"These guys will be breeze; I can kill all of them with my hands behind my back" boasted Kisame.

"Hm, so would you like to do the honors then?" asked the Uchiha.

Kisame chuckled at Itachi, "You've been extra lazy today Itachi, making me do all the work. If I didn't know any better, you're turning soft" he said meant as a jab at his partner.

"Think what you want, I'd rather just save myself for a proper opponent" he said before jumping up into the viewing box around the arena.

'Everything seems to be going according to plan' the Uchiha thought to himself as he watched the ensuing fight with a keen interest.

Utakata glanced at Naruto, "We won't go after the Uchiha, we'll fight Kisame first and worry about him later. They're underestimating us so that'll work towards our advantage" he said to the blonde.

Naruto nodded, "Don't worry I know, now let's kill this shark" he said as he weaved through more hand seals.

"**Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere"** he yelled as he exhaled several blasts of wind chakra to his opponent. This left Kisame to dodge the incoming wind projectiles.

Utakata followed it up by blowing bubbles towards the preoccupied Kisame, as they grew closer to, they exploded right in his face.

"Whoa what was that?" asked Naruto.

Utakata grinned, "That's my new move, the **Explosive Bubble**" he replied

Kisame scowled as he winced in pain, he didn't expect to be caught off guard by their attack. Quickly he grabbed his sword and prepared to retaliate but he was surprised when he was struck from behind.

"**Piston Fist"** yelled his attacker.

Kisame blocked the attack just in time shielding himself with his sword, as the sword connected with Jugo's fist the Samehada's spikes were released. Jugo jumped back and winced in pain; his right hand had taken a bit of damage from the counter.

Naruto glanced at Jugo and sighed; it had been a while since he last used his **Sage Transformation**, but he guessed that to defeat Kisame they had to resort to this.

Kagura followed up Jugo's attack with **Water Release: Water Severing Wave**. He kneads chakra in his stomach he spews it out at as a high-pressure stream.

Kisame grunted in annoyance before using his sword to slice the stream of water in half, but by doing so he left himself open to an attack.

Jugo charged towards Kisame once more, forgetting all about the pain on his right fist. Jet-like appendages formed on his back as he used his **Jet Booster Jump** technique to increase his speed.

He used his left hand to strike, but this time before striking his opponent Jugo's left arm morphed and turned into an axe.

"**Destroying Axe Fist**" he yelled as he slammed his attack right into his opponent. Unfortunately, the skilled swordsman managed to recover in time to bring his sword to his side to shield him from the attack. Jugo's fist connected with Kisame's sword once again, Samehada's spikes were released once more as a smug grin was seen on Kisame's face.

"Heh you fool, I didn't think you would fall for the same trick twice" he said.

Jugo only managed a chuckle as he exerted more force into his attack sending Kisame flying. The Akatsuki nin's eyes widened in shock, there didn't seem to be any damage on his opponent's arm.

'What? Why didn't it work?' Kisame thought to himself before colliding with the wall.

He didn't have much time to react since the rest of his opponents immediately attacked on his prone form. Jugo was the first to follow up after his strike, he leaped towards Kisame as jet-like appendages also began to form on his left arm. He struck his opponent with **Piston Fist: Style One** technique right in the gut, causing their enemy to cough up a generous amount of blood. The transformed Jugo then leapt back to allow his allies to unleash their jutsus.

"**Water Release: Water Colliding Wave**" yelled Kagura as hurled a spiraling vortex of water towards Kisame's prone form.

Utakata in the meanwhile used **Water Release: Water Fang Bullet** to shoot a highly pressurized projectile of water towards his opponent.

Naruto simultaneously attacked with the other two, "**Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves**" exclaimed the blonde before taking a deep breath. As he exhaled, he released multiple blades of wind towards his target.

A loud roar of pain was heard from the inflicted area, dust surrounded the location as the vision of the ninjas was blurred.

"Heh that would've done him in" Naruto blurted out confidently.

"Hm that was much easier than I thought it was going to be" added Kagura.

But then suddenly a menacing chuckle emerged from the dust, and just like that the air around the area grew heavy. A bloodthirsty aura of KI and chakra engulfed the ninjas, it was almost to the point of suffocation.

As the dust clouds settled a lone figure stood in front of the ninjas, Kisame stood in front of them. His Akatsuki cloak clearly damaged, and traces of blood covering his body. He seemed to be in pain but nonetheless his eyes showed no hesitation. He had the look of a killer.

'What the fuck? How is he still standing after all that?' thought Naruto.

"You thought you had me, didn't you?" he asked as he studied the speechless faces of his opponents, "You did well, that would have killed most ninjas. But unfortunately for all of you I'm not like most ninjas".

The missing nin released another wave of dense chakra resulting in even the ground beginning to shake, he laughed inwardly, he could see that they were intimidated.

Naruto's eyes widened in shock; he didn't think anyone else had this amount of chakra. The blonde prided himself of having incredible reserves, but the man in front of him was giving him a fight and he wasn't even a Jinchuuriki.

Kagura stood his ground though visibly shaking, 'So this is the power of Kisame Hoshigaki, he really is a monster' he thought before breathing deeply to calm his nerves. His hand inched closer to his sheathed sword, he knew this fight was going to be difficult and he knew there was no running away.

Jugo clenched his jaw, he knew heading into this fight that his opponent would be strong, but he didn't expect him to be this strong.

Utakata noticed the distressed looks on his team, "Hey everyone, calm down we can handle this, he may be strong, but we have the numbers. I want all of you to regroup by me, we'll fight him head on" he said as his teammates all jumped to his side.

A dark chuckle was heard from Kisame, "Now that you've all had your fun now its my turn" he exclaimed before weaving through his own seals.

"**Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave" **

Kisame spat out a tremendous amount of water as it formed a large tidal wave about to attack his opponents.

"Damn we need to defend ourselves quick" yelled Naruto.

"Right ahead of you Naruto" said Utakata as he blew a large bubble to surround them, "**Bubble Dome**" yelled the Rokubi Jinchuuriki.

The Akatsuki ninja laughed as he witnessed his opponents now going defensive, "Now the real fun begins" he muttered to himself.

* * *

**With Hotaru**

The blonde kunoichi had escaped with the three targets to safety, they stood just outside the entrance to the arena. They had a view of the fight, but they were far enough that they wouldn't be dragged into it. In the meantime, Hotaru used her basic medical skills to patch up the wounds of the three.

"Who are you guys?" asked the youngest of the group.

Hotaru smiled as she continued wrapping up the young man's damaged arm, "Were members of the Kiri rebellion and we don't mean you any harm. Were here after that man's sword" she replied before pointing to Kisame.

"Why are you helping us then?" asked the crystal woman.

"Haven't you ever heard of the term; the enemy of my enemy is my friend?".

"Hm fair point" she replied.

"What's your names?" asked the blonde as she continued to tend to the young boy's wounds.

"My name is Guren, the young man you're treating is Yukimaru, and the redhead is Karin Uzumaki" she replied.

"Uzumaki?" she asked as the redhead in the back nodded shyly, "One of my teammates is also an Uzumaki. The blonde one fighting Kisame, his name is Naruto Uzumaki".

Karin's eyes widened in shock, she immediately had a peak at the fight, and she examined Naruto. The blonde didn't seem to have the trademark Uzumaki red hair but she guessed that his Uzumaki parent must have married outside the clan.

Hotaru finished patching up the young boy known as Yukimaru, she then turned her attention to the oldest of the group. But before she could walk over to tend to Guren, Karin walked over and folded the sleeve on her arm. Hotaru's eyes immediately noticed the multiple scars left on the redhead's arms.

"Don't bother, this will be much quicker. Guren-san bite my arm" she ordered as the crystal user nodded, Hotaru was about to argue but stopped when she noticed the wounds on Guren's body immediately disappear as she bit into Karin's arm.

"What the hell is going on?" she yelled in distress.

Karin winced in pain as soon as the woman's teeth was removed from her arm, "This is a special skill of mine. My blood has powerful regenerative powers" she explained.

"Thank you, Karin-san," said Guren as she gingerly stood up from her position.

"What are you going to do now Guren-san?" questioned Hotaru.

"From the looks of things your friends over there need a bit of a helping hand" she replied before walking over back into the arena. But before she entered the battle zone, she felt someone hug her from behind, she turned back, and her expression softened when she noticed it was Yukimaru. Her hand reached the pat the young man's head.

"Don't worry so much Yukimaru-kun, I'll come back" she replied.

Yukimaru slowly nodded before releasing his hug, "I'll be waiting for you Guren-chan" he replied.

"I'll go with you" said Hotaru.

"I will too" added Karin.

Guren turned around and shook her head, "No Karin, I want you to leave and take Yukimaru with you. Wait for us by the entrance and use your sensory skills to see what's going on, but if things aren't going according to plan, I want you to take Yukimaru and run and don't look back" she ordered sternly.

"But I can fight as well" she argued.

"I know you can, but you know that they're after Yukimaru. Please just look after him"

Reluctantly Karin nodded in understanding before grabbing the distressed Yukimaru and running towards the exit. Before they left Yukimaru yelled out to the Guren.

"Guren promise me you'll come back"

The woman could only smile before walking back into the fight, she didn't know if she was going to make it out of this but even if she didn't, she would at least buy Yukimaru some time to escape. Guren sighed before turning to face her new ally.

"Alright Hotaru, I have a plan"

* * *

**With Naruto**

The blonde was panting, his brow covered in sweat and his torso with blood and dirt. Kisame was managing to hold his own against them and it was completely frustrating since this was without Itachi in the picture. Itachi was watching from the sidelines examining everything from afar. But as things were starting to look bleak for the four Kiri ninjas, they were relieved to see the arrival of reinforcements.

"**Crystal Release: Tearing Crystal Falling Dragon"**

Guren summoned a large serpentine crystal dragon from the ground and it immediately flew towards Kisame. The missing nin immediately weaved through hand seals.

"**Water Release: Great Shark Bullet Technique**" he yelled as he released a large force of water in the shape of a shark towards the incoming crystal dragon. The power of the two jutsu collided to a standstill. Immediately straight after Hotaru jumped in front of the unsuspecting Kisame and delivered an attack straight to the man, point blank.

'Shit that was a diversion' Kisame thought to himself.

"**Water Release: Water Gun"**

Hotaru spat a large and compact ball of water to the unsuspecting Kisame. The shark man was caught unaware and was sent flying towards the opposite direction. Upon seeing this the others immediately pounced to attack. The transformed Jugo immediately appeared in front of Kisame and delivered yet another powerful blow towards the man's torso.

Kisame coughed up blood but then his eyes widened in fear as he watched three versions of Kagura appear before him, the young man and his two clones all had their sword in their hand.

"**Dance of the Crescent Moon"**

The three simultaneously attacked their opponent and left severe cuts on the man's torso, the clones immediately dispelled and Kagura jumped back to evade the incoming jutsus from his two other teammates.

A few bubbles immediately appeared in front of Kisame's face, before the man could react, they popped eliciting a red powder. Kisame's eyes began to sting and water, and in a matter of seconds his sight had been temporarily disabled, leaving him blinded for a few minutes. Such is the effects of Utakata's Blinding Bubbles Technique.

"This is it Naruto, this is our chance" yelled Utakata.

Naruto nodded, "Hai don't you worry" he said before summoning two shadow clones. The two shadow clones weaved through hand seals, while the original Naruto began to gather chakra on his right hand.

The two clones stood behind Naruto as they unleashed a powerful gust of wind straight from their palms.

"**Wind Release: Gale Palm"**

"**Naruto Stream"**

The original Naruto jumped up and caught the wind in time accelerating him to an incredible speed, in less than a second the blonde was immediately in front of Kisame.

"**Rasengan"**

Kisame howled in pain as Naruto's attack connected to his gut, an incredible amount of blood was coughed from the shark man's mouth. Naruto was about to approach Kisame with the kunai in his hand, but before he could reach Kisame, the man's partner appeared just behind the shark man.

The former Kiri nin laid on the ground, he didn't want to admit it, but he was glad that Itachi arrived. He misjudged these ninjas and now he was paying the price for it. He glanced up and saw Naruto and the others take a step back with the arrival of Itachi. Seeing this opportunity, he made his best effort to stand, it took him a couple tries but with the help of Samehada as a walking stick, he managed to get up albeit very gingerly.

His breath grew haggard, but his nerves were calmed as soon as he saw his partner behind him.

"Leave the rest to me Kisame" said Itachi.

Naruto and the other ninjas watched in fear as a red armored exoskeleton began to engulf Itachi's form. It stood nearly ten meters, in one hand it held a sword and in the other a shield. In front of them was a fabled power hidden within the Sharingan, it was the legendary **Susanoo**.

Kisame chuckled darkly watching the speechless expressions on the face of his opponents, "Now you've done it, you've done well to last this far but you will die now" he said.

Itachi's Susanoo raised his sword high up, the Kiri revolutionaries and Guren braced themselves for the incoming attack. But much to everyone's shock it never came. Itachi drove the sword down, but no one expected him to strike Kisame, his own partner.

Kisame's eyes widened as the pain and realization struck, he turned around towards Itachi with hate in his eyes. He seethed in anger as he stared into the face of his betrayer.

"Curse you Itachi, curse you and your damn clan" he yelled as the sword absorbed the man's soul. Then in a single second his entire body fell to the ground unceremoniously.

Naruto and the others watched unknowing of what to do, Itachi's Susanoo then dispelled leaving the Uchiha standing alone. He slowly walked over to the ninjas his eyes blazing red.

The group took a defensive stance against the Uchiha, then Itachi's eyes spun around catching Naruto's teammates. Kagura, Guren, Utakata, Jugo and Hotaru all immediately fell to the ground limp. Naruto was the last man standing, he turned around after hearing those successive thumps, and his eyes widened at seeing the limp forms of his friends.

He turned back to Itachi with rage in his eyes, "What did you do to them?" he yelled in frustration.

Itachi remained calm as he walked towards Naruto, "Don't worry Naruto-kun they're just caught in a harmless sleep genjutsu" he said.

Naruto grabbed his sheath sword as he pointed it towards the incoming Itachi, the Uchiha remained unaffected and he stared Naruto right in the eyes catching him in his jutsu, the **Tsukuyomi**.

* * *

**Tsukuyomi**

A dazed and confused Naruto found himself in a strange foggy plane, he had no idea where he was. He looked around to find a clue, but the dense fog restricted his vision that he couldn't even see the ground. But then suddenly a small path of fog was cleared and in front standing coolly was Itachi.

"What the fuck did you do to me? Where the hell am I?" demanded Naruto, he tried to reach for his katana, but it wasn't there. He then tried to form chakra but for some reason he couldn't muster any up. For the first time in a long time the blonde was without a plan.

Behind Naruto a large concrete slab emerged from the ground, the slab was in the shape of a cross. Far before the blonde could react the shackles of the cross caught him. There he stood tied to the concrete slab restricted of any movement, and in front of him Itachi approached slowly and slowly.

"I do not wish to harm you Naruto-kun, I am merely here to talk to you" he said.

"Bullshit, why should I trust you? In the position I'm currently in you can just kill me whenever you want. So, I guess you can understand why I don't believe you".

"Hm believe me Naruto-kun, if I wanted you dead you would have died a long time ago" he taunted causing a shiver of fear to run through Naruto's spine, "If I came here to kill you I wouldn't have allowed Kisame to fight by himself, and of course I wouldn't have killed him myself".

Naruto tried to think of a reply, but he was stumped, he didn't fully trust Itachi but seeing how he killed Kisame it may have bought the Uchiha a little bit of leeway.

"Dammit okay what do you want to talk about? I'm not really in a position to argue anyway" he muttered in annoyance.

"First off, I know of your exploits in the Kiri Rebellion, and I know the purpose of your mission. You and your team are here to collect the Samehada, correct?" he asked as Naruto nodded reluctantly, "Well as a sign of peace after our talk I will leave the sword for you and your team to bring back. For that you have my word. Actually, you may as well consider it as a thank you gift".

Naruto didn't know how to respond to that, so he nodded slowly, the blonde wasn't sure what exactly was going on and he was curious.

"Thank you gift? Thank you for what?"

"I know about what happened between you and my foolish little brother, I know about your infamous battle in the Valley of the End. I know how you paid the ultimate price for his idiocy. Please accept my apology as Sasuke's older brother" he said before bowing down respectfully to the stunned Naruto.

A few seconds pass before Naruto broke himself from his state of reverie, he stared straight at Itachi unsure of how to react. He took a few more seconds to let it sink in.

"What is going on? You can't be really Itachi. Why would you apologize for that? The real Itachi would be hunting down to kill Sasuke" he exclaimed in utter confusion.

Itachi sighed expecting this sort of reactions from the blonde, his expression turned staunch as he silenced Naruto.

"I know this will be a lot to take in, but for the next few hours I will show you the truth. The truth about the massacre, the truth about Konoha, and the dark truth about our Hokage".

* * *

**With Mei Terumi**

The auburn-haired kunoichi walked through the dense forest on the outskirts of their encampment. So far everything had been going according to plan, many meters away from her was Ao. The man was on scouting duties and using his surgically implanted Byakugan he gazed into the distance watching their target Kushimaru Kuriarare tail Mei from up the surrounding trees. Ao's locationing for this scenario was perfect, he was close enough for his Byakugan to clearly see the surroundings, but far enough so that Kushimaru Kuriarare couldn't sense his chakra.

Ao would speak into a small microphone detailing his findings, and of course the microphone was directly connected to a small earpiece located in Mei's ear. The kunoichi would continue walking pretending to be unaware, but all the while she completely knew where their target was located.

She walked further and further slowly leading the man to his demise, until eventually once they reached a suitable distance Mei threw smoke bombs down on the ground.

Kushimaru Kuriarare, who was tailing the kunoichi a few meters away, gazed in frustration as he realized that his cover had been blown. A second later he heard a voice behind him.

"**Boil Release: Skilled Mist Technique"**

Suddenly she exhaled a cloud of mist from her mouth and the surroundings began to melt and wither. Kushimaru knew better than to be within distance of that so he jumped down to the ground. But upon landing on the ground he immediately heard incoming footsteps, he brought up his sword and just barely managed to block the incoming attacks of Suigetsu and Chojuro with their katanas.

With force he pushed them away but before he could try to run he heard approaching footsteps; his eyes widened in fear as he watched Mei Terumi walk towards him. Behind him were the two younger ninjas brandishing their katanas. His eyes searched the trees in front of him, but as he found a possible escape route a man he recognized immediately appeared.

Chūkichi appeared and tauntingly shook his head telling Kushimaru no, the man cursed his luck he scanned around the area and couldn't find a single escape route. He was trapped and if he wanted to leave he had to fight his way out.

Kushimaru sighed as the grip on his sword tightened, his eyes hardened as he glared at the approaching form of Mei.

"So, I heard you were sent to kill me" she said but Kushimaru didn't bother with a single reply, "Ah so you're the cold and silent type I see. No matter, you came here with a mission to kill me and I'll give you an opportunity to try and do so".

Kushimaru remained unflinching and disbelieving, he glared straight at the auburn-haired kunoichi watching to find openings. He knew more than likely he was going to die right here and right now, but if he could at least take Mei down with him then maybe this mission wouldn't come down as a failure.

"I'll give you a chance, I'm going to have the others back off and were going to fight one on one. If you kill me fair and square then you have my word you can leave unharmed. Obviously if you lose, then you die, and your sword is ours".

Kushimaru sprung forth about to strike Mei in the heart, the kunoichi chuckled before jumping up to evade the speedy attack.

"I'll take that to mean you agree" she joked before landing back down, "Now you better not disappoint me now Kushimaru. It's been a while since I've had a real fight so show me what you can do".

* * *

**Tsukuyomi **

Naruto was speechless, he had just been shown Konoha's darkest secret. He watched Itachi's memories of the days leading up to the massacre and the days following it. To say Naruto was shocked would be an understatement, he had so many questions right now.

First he couldn't believe that the Sandaime would allow such a thing, but also he was even more infuriated about Danzo. Naruto's views of the past were shattered in one fell swoop; he didn't know what to think anymore. Konoha was tainted with the blood of the innocent.

"That's the truth Naruto-kun, now you know my deepest secret" he said in a solemn tone, "I sacrificed everything for Konoha, and it pains me to see how it is now with Danzo as Hokage".

"But why? Why would you show me all this?" asked the blonde.

"Even though I assume you now base yourself in Kiri, I know deep down you continue to hold the Will of Fire. Despite everything that happened you still love your home. Am I correct in assuming that?"

Naruto sighed in defeat, "I've been hurt, beaten and betrayed by Konoha. But no matter what it will always be my home" he replied softly.

"I respect you Naruto-kun, Sasuke is lucky to have friend like you".

The blonde sighed, "No offence Itachi but Sasuke is no longer a friend of mine. He was once like a brother to me, but what kind of brother ram his lightning infused hand through my body mercilessly. Then straight after lead to your exile" he replied with anger laced in his voice.

Itachi sighed in defeat, "I understand don't worry, and once again I'm sorry for my brother. But if its any consolation to you Naruto-kun, I thought you would have been a great Hokage" answered the Uchiha.

"Thanks, Itachi but unfortunately that's nothing more than a pipe dream now"

"Konoha was foolish to let someone like you go, but now I feel with our current situations we can work together" said Itachi.

"Work together? How?'

"With Danzo as Hokage my old promise with the Sandaime is now null and void. I'm sure given time the Akatsuki will learn of my betrayal so I will lay low for a while. I plan on hiding within the Land of Fire and gathering intel on Konoha and Danzo. I wish to overthrow the current regime, and I would need your help for it to be successful"

Naruto's mind thought about this offer quite intricately, there were so many risks involved in accepting such a thing and logically he would be foolish to do so. Morally speaking however Naruto knew this was something he had to do, since he didn't think anyone else was willing to stand up to a ruthless tyrant like Danzo.

A few more minutes pass as Naruto continued contemplating the offer, he soon realized that this might even be beneficial to the rebellion in the long term. As it stands Konoha has its eyes on Kiri's revolution and they could swoop in at any time. If he could throw a wrench in their cogs it could buy time for Kiri to allow itself to increase its defenses.

"Alright I'm in" he said as he watched Itachi smile at him.

"Thank you Naruto-kun"

"Don't worry, so what's your plan?" he asked.

"As I said I will lay low for a while but my focus for the mean time will be the status and whereabouts of both Jiraiya-sama and Tsunade-sama. To be successful we'll need to enlist their help"

Naruto's eyes widened in disbelief, "Ero-Sennin and Baa-chan? Do you know if they're alive?" he asked urgently.

"I don't know for certain, but I've heard a few rumors that they were being kept in one of Konoha's high end prisons".

"Please if you can find a way to break them free, if you ever need help let me know and I will be there. I owe those two my life, and I will do anything to repay them"

Itachi nodded in understanding, "Say no more" he said before a crow immediately formed out of nothing in his shoulder.

"Naruto-kun I will give this crow to you; it will be our way of communication. If you ever need to speak to me and vice-versa we will summon this crow" he said as the crow flew towards Naruto's torso before being absorbed.

Naruto nodded in understanding, "Alright thank you Itachi" he said.

"With that out of the way I believe its time for us to go our separate ways" said Itachi as he released the effects of his Sharingan. Then suddenly both Naruto and Itachi were back in the real world. Itachi looked around at the bodies of Naruto's unconscious allies. With a snap of a finger the Uchiha prodigy removed the genjutsu surrounding them.

"Don't worry Naruto-kun they'll come to eventually, just give them two to three minutes and they'll be up and standing" he explained before walking over to Kisame's deceased body. By the shark man's side was his sword the Samehada grieving and weeping.

"What the hell kind of sword is that?" blurted the blonde, he was confused as to what exactly the Samehada was.

Itachi simply threw a storage scroll on the sword and it absorbed the weeping blade. The Uchiha grabbed the scroll then threw it over to Naruto. The blonde caught the sword and placed it in his pockets immediately.

"As I promised the sword is yours"

"Thank you I really appreciate that Itachi".

Itachi walked over to face Naruto directly, "You've grown up a lot since I last properly saw you" he said.

"You mean since Tanzaku Gai? Well yeah of course that was years ago" replied Naruto.

Itachi shook his head, "No far before that memory, I don't think you know this, but I was actually one of the ANBU who were designated to protect you as a child" he said.

Naruto's eyes widened in shock, "Wait you're Weasel?" he asked as Itachi nodded.

"Yes, I was Weasel, Kakashi-senpai was Dog, and Yugao-senpai was Cat. We were your three guardians".

"Wait Kakashi-sensei as well? This is all news to me" he exclaimed.

Itachi chuckled before lightly tapping Naruto on the forehead, "It's time for me to go, goodbye little brother. Thank you" he said before vanishing into a flock of crows.

Naruto stood surprised at the sudden disappearance but there was nothing he could do about it, so he turned to his unconscious teammates and decided it was time to wake them up.

* * *

**Outside the Lair**

The ninjas managed to hobble out of Orochimaru's destroyed base a few minutes after waking up from the genjutsu. After their exit they regrouped with Karin who held Yukimaru by her side. Upon leaving the lair, Guren was instantaneously engulfed in an embrace from Yukimaru.

Naruto stayed unusually silent; earlier he chose not to say anything to his team pretending to have been knocked unconscious alongside of them. Learning the truth had put a toll on Naruto both mentally and emotionally. He didn't like keeping lying to his friends but after learning such vital information he knew this was the type of thing that should remain on the downlow for now. At the end of the day he reasoned with himself that more than anything this was Naruto's issue, none of this had anything to do with the rebellion and their end goal. In the end he decided not to fret about all this for now, he'll have time to think things through when they get back to camp.

Utakata on the other hand paid no mind to the touching reunion either, instead his focus was directed on two things. One was Itachi's encounter with the group and how just so happened to gift them the Samehada. Things didn't add up, but he had no way of finding out the man's reasons for helping them. Second was what to do with the three subjects of Orochimaru, despite helping them during the battle he didn't know if they could fully trust them now that they didn't need each other's help.

"Before any of this continues I'd like to know what you plan to do now?" asked the Rokubi Jinchuuriki.

Guren glanced up at the pale man and sighed before removing herself from Yukimaru's embrace, "To be honest I don't know. I don't think Orochimaru-sama will be pleased after learning of what happened here. He'll be after our heads so I believe it would be best if we lay low for a while" she replied honestly.

Utakata nodded in understanding, a few more questions popped in his mind but before he could ask any of them Naruto decided to butt in.

"Why don't you join us instead?" he asked, Utakata turned to Naruto in annoyance before slamming a fist down the blonde boy's head.

"You idiot we can't just let anyone join us, sure they seem useful, but they do work for Orochimaru"

Naruto winced in pain as he rubbed the top of his head, "Come on surely they're not all too bad. I mean they did help us, and from the sounds of things they have some cool powers" he replied.

Utakata sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose in annoyance, "How exactly do you know they can be trusted?" he asked rhetorically.

The blonde shrugged his shoulders, "I don't call, intuition I guess" he answered.

Guren decided to voice her opinion, "If you would have us we would be honored. I can't speak for Karin, but I believe for Yukimaru and I, it might be our best interests to join you" she exclaimed.

Logically speaking the rebellion might be the perfect place for them to settle down for the meantime, after everything that's happened it might be safer than anywhere else. She was sure Orochimaru would chase them down after this, he was never known as being a forgiving man. Guren also doubted that Akatsuki would quit after this botched attempt.

But staying in the rebellion had definite benefits for them. Guren would probably have to enlist to fight in the front lines but she was confident enough in her skills not to be fussed about this matter. But by being associated with the rebellion it may give her and Yukimaru a sense of protection.

She knew Orochimaru was vengeful, but she didn't think he would be foolish enough to challenge the entire Kiri rebellion movement, likewise with the Akatsuki. It may be dangerous for her, but Yukimaru could remain safe since she doubted they would even consider enlisting him into battle.

The former Kiri shook his head as he turned his attention to Guren and the others, "I don't know if we can ever trust you. We don't know anything about you" replied Utakata.

Guren sighed, "You've seen what I can do in battle if you take us in I will fight for you and your cause. You cannot tell me that I wouldn't be an asset. If it puts you at ease I'll allow you to conduct any necessary form of screening for us" she said.

Utakata stood there giving it some thought, what she said was true in the sense that she would give the rebellion an incredible boost in power. If they were willing to subject themselves to screenings then maybe they could be trusted.

"If you wish to join us you'll have to be questioned in the camp. We need to find out about everything about you so that includes your pasts, your involvement with Orochimaru, your reasoning for joining us, the extent of your powers, among other things. Of course, you can't lie during this screening process. We have a specialist in interrogation within our ranks, with his skills he can easily tell whether you're being dishonest or not. So, if you're really serious I suggest for you to answer the questions truthfully"

Guren nodded in understanding as Utakata grabbed a few chakra cuffs. They worked as handcuffs, but they were special in the sense that they nullify the captured individual's chakra.

"What are those for" she asked.

"If you're serious then I'm afraid we must handcuff you for precautionary reasons, we'll untie you once you do your screening process. I know this may sound hypocritical of me, but I ask that you trust me when I say that no harm with come to any of you"

She turned back to Utakata and nodded her head before pushing her arms out, the captain nodded as he placed the cuffs on both Guren and Yukimaru's wrists.

"If this is what it takes for you to trust us then so be it"

Once they were cuffed the attention turned to the redhead, Karin let out a surprised shriek as the gazes were turned to her.

"What about you, what's your name?" asked Utakata.

Karin bowed her head shyly, "My name is Karin Uzumaki sir" she replied respectfully.

Naruto's eyes widened in shock, "Uzumaki? That's amazing I'm an Uzumaki myself" exclaimed the blonde.

Karin smiled as she faced Naruto, "So I've heard, Hotaru-san mentioned that you were also an Uzumaki. It's so good to finally meet another Uzumaki" she said.

"It's so nice to meet you Karin-chan, the name's Naruto" he replied with a large smile on his face.

The redhead blushed at the familiar way the blonde addressed her; she quickly adjusted her glasses as she examined Naruto. She focused her sensory skills to have a small taste of Naruto's chakra. In a matter of seconds, she was suddenly engulfed in a warm and bright aura, her blush deepened, this was the most delicious chakra she had ever tasted. It radiated like the sun, she had never felt chakra like this before, but as she delved deeper into the boy's chakra she could feel a cold menacing aura unlike any other hidden deep within him.

She turned off her sensory skills before delving deeper, as she came to she felt Naruto placing his hand on her forehead as if to take her temperature.

"What are you doing?" she stuttered in embarrassment.

"You seem to have zoned out for a minute and your face heated up, so I thought you were sick or something" he replied.

"Oh well thank you for checking up on me but I assure you that I'm fine" she said.

"Well that's good I'm glad you're alright" replied the blonde as a large smile graced his face. Karin's blush deepened even further as she admired the man's handsome face and charming aura.

"Alright enough flirting you two" admonished Utakata as Naruto scowled at his fellow Jinchuuriki, "Before my questions get interrupted further I want to know what your plans are Karin-san?".

Karin sighed and gave it some thought, she honestly didn't know where to go from here, on one hand she could leave and hide off somewhere, or she could do what Guren did and join. She thought about it, she shyly snuck a glance at Naruto and her decision was made. She was intrigued by this boy, and she wanted more of his chakra, not to mention the joy she felt upon meeting another Uzumaki.

"I'd like to join you all as well" she said. Utakata nodded as he placed cuffs on her wrists.

"Alright now that our business here is done I believe it's time for us to make tracks back home to deliver the Samehada. I'm sure Mei-sama would've been successful in her own mission so if that were the case we would have assembled all seven swords. But before we head off we should probably wake up the other squads" ordered Utakata.

* * *

**Kiri Rebellion Base**

The group had finally returned to the base, first order of business was to report to Mei. Utakata decided to head on and deliver the report to Mei. The group was glad to come home, and they were also glad to see that Mei did in fact win her bout, and now both the Samehada and Nuibari were in the possession of the revolution.

Naruto and the others decided to head on to their own tents to catch up on rest, the consecutive missions for the blonde had put a toll on the young man. He was exhausted, first it was Jinin Akebino then it was Kisame Hoshigaki, he decided it was time to get some well-deserved rest.

Meanwhile, Karin, Guren and Yukimaru were placed in the interrogation tent, they remained cuff as Ao questioned them for the rest of the night. His byakugan came in handy during times like these, it helped him see if they were lying or telling the truth.

* * *

**The Following Day**

Early in the morning the entire rebellion was called to line up outside the camp. Naruto stood in one of the lines to his right was Kagura, and to his left was Chojuro. In front of all the soldiers stood Mei and the other heads of the revolution. Zabuza, Utakata, Ao and Chūkichi all stood a step behind Mei, it was finally time for their leader to address the situation regarding the swords.

"Yesterday was a great day for our cause, a team led by Utakata returned and with them was the mangled corpse of Kisame Hoshigaki and the most sought-after sword in all the lands the Samehada. A few days before that my team and I were successful in defeating Kushimaru Kuriarare and as a result claiming the Nuibari. With the addition of these two swords our search is now complete, the remaining swordsmen loyal to Yagura are now dead and all seven of the swords are now in our hands"

A smile graced Mei's lips, now it was finally time for the big decision to be made, "With all swords now in our possession the five of us had an important meeting last night and we finally decided who has proven themselves worthy to wield these swords for our cause" she said as she watched the confidence rise among her ranks.

"Before we announce the new owners, we decided to allow the Samehada to choose first since it is the only sword among the seven that chooses it's owner" she explained before bringing out the storage scroll which held the Samehada.

Mei unsealed the sword and the Samehada dropped to stand on its hilt. The tip of the sword revealed a shark like mouth, the sword began to sniff the air in search of its new owner. Then immediately it found the ninja with the potential to wield him. Using its hilt, he bounced slowly to its desired targets.

The ninjas in the area watched in a mixture of shock and awe at the abilities of this sword, they couldn't believe that such a thing was possible.

The Samehada jumped through the crowds passing through the other ninjas in search of its new master, until eventually he jumped and landed in front of Kagura Karatachi. The entire army was speechless upon seeing the sword choose Kagura of all people.

Kagura's eyes widened in shock as he gazed at the sword, 'I've wanted this sword for a long time, but I can't believe it would reciprocate by choosing me' he thought to himself. He turned to his left to see Naruto's smiling face encouraging him.

"Congratulations Kagura you got what you want. I'm happy for you" he said.

Kagura nodded at Naruto in thanks before extending his hand to grab the hilt of the Samehada, once he had it secured he lifted it up to the ground. The young man was shocked, he expected the sword to be much heavier, but it was apparently a lot lighter than it looked.

'So, this is it, the legendary Samehada. It's finally now in my hands' he thought to himself as a sinister chuckle rang across his thoughts, 'This is exactly what I needed. With this my mother and father can be avenged'.

The attention was then directed to Zabuza as the man's voice rang out into the crowd, "With the Samehada now under Kagura's ownership, it is now time to unveil the other swordsmen" he said as he unveiled yet another storage scroll. The contents were released as a plume of smoke engulfed the surrounding area, once the smoke started to thin out the soldiers noticed the six swords all stabbed into the ground.

"I will allow Zabuza-san to call out the new owners. We as a group discussed this last night, this was a hotly debated topic but in the end we concluded on who we found were fit to carry them. But remember for those of you chosen when you carry this sword, you are not just carrying a weapon. You will be carrying the hopes and dreams of a free and liberated Kirigakure" Mei yelled out.

Zabuza nodded in agreement, "I couldn't have said it better myself. Now once your name is called I want you to walk over and stand in the front. Kagura, seeing as how you already have a sword please come over" he said.

Kagura slowly walked out of the crowd and he stood in front of all of them. In his right hand was the Samehada, the older ninjas examined the boy. They could see why he was chosen, Kagura had incredible reserves for his age and he had an unforgiving bloodlust at times. It was well known to everyone that the sword relied on blood and chakra, perfect for someone like Kagura.

"Suigetsu Hozuki" yelled Zabuza.

Suigetsu was stunned, he was one of the ones hoping and praying to get called up and he was glad to hear his name. He eagerly made his way to the front to face Zabuza and the swords in front of him.

Zabuza grabbed the hilt of the Kubikiribōchō and plucked it from the ground before handing it over to Suigetsu, "I chose you to wield this sword since I see a lot of myself in you brat. I don't give out much compliments, so you better consider yourself lucky" he said.

Suigetsu was surprised to say the least but he bowed respectfully at Zabuza, "I'll make you proud sensei" he replied.

Zabuza nodded, "Take care of it gaki, that sword is my baby" warned the former swordsman.

The White-haired teen nodded, "You bet I will, thank you for choosing me sensei" he replied in an honest tone. With the Kubikiribōchō now in his hand he walked over to stand by Kagura's side, the two stood proudly in front of all their fellow soldiers with their swords by their hand.

"Haku"

The Ice-nin didn't expect to be called but she quickly escaped her trance as she walked to her master, "Zabuza-sama I am thankful for you having faith in me" she said with a curt bow.

"I am going to give you the Nuibari" he said as he drew the sword from the ground, "This sword would be perfect for someone like you. Having trained you for many years I know of your proficiency in assassination, and from all the seven swords the Nuibari is the one best suited for assassinations".

Haku grabbed the hilt of his new blade as a small smile graced her face, "Thank you for putting your trust in me sensei" she said. Now in front of the soldiers stood three of the new generation of seven swordsmen, four more to go.

"Jugo"

The large and stocky Jugo made his way to face Zabuza. The former swordsman grabbed the hilt of the Kabutowari, it was extremely heavy for Zabuza to carry but as he transferred it to Jugo he was pleased to see the young man wield the blade with no problem.

A smirk appeared underneath the former swordsman's mask, "I chose you for this sword Jugo since you are one of the few people with enough physical strength to carry this sword, let alone use it. But your brute strength isn't the only reason, you show incredible promise along with the others" he explained.

Jugo bowed respectfully, "Thank you sensei, I will train hard and do my best to live up to your expectations " he said before taking hold of the Kabutowari and making his way to join the line with the others.

"Chojuro"

The blue haired boy shook nervously, he wasn't expecting to get called in all honestly and he was unsure of what to do. He wasn't broken from his thoughts as he felt an elbow nudge him on the side. He turned to see Naruto encouraging him the same way he did with Kagura earlier on.

"Go on Chojuro, Zabuza's waiting for you" he said with a smile.

Chojuro nodded meekly before gently walking over to the front of the crowd, Zabuza chuckled as he watched the young man's shy demeanor. The former swordsman thought very highly of this young man, he had problems with his confidence but Zabuza and the others knew his true capabilities. He was incredibly talented and skillful, but he just couldn't believe in his own abilities.

"Chojuro, I will be giving you the Shibuki" he said as he handed the explosive blade over to the nervous young lad, "You've shown incredible determination, resilience and loyalty to the cause ever since you joined, and despite your age you've proven to be one of the most reliable and skilled ninjas in our rank".

The blue-haired boy's face grew red in embarrassment, he wasn't used at all to receiving praise. "Thank you sensei, I didn't expect for you to choose me but I'm thankful for it nonetheless" he replied in a soft tone.

"Don't sell yourself short Chojuro, we all see the effort you put into our goal and the hidden power you display. You'll make a great addition to the seven swordsmen, trust me"

Chojuro was speechless, he didn't know what to say. Instead of using words he chose action, the young man bowed respectfully to his sensei. Zabuza smiled and patted him in the back.

There in front of the crowd now stood Kagura, Suigetsu, Haku, Jugo and Chojuro. A young lineup thus far but one that showed extreme potential.

"Hotaru"

The blonde kunoichi was surprised to say the least but she was elated to hear her name be called out suddenly, she skipped merrily to face Zabuza.

The masked nin grabbed both handles of the Kiba before handing them over to Utakata's prized student, "Hotaru I chose you for a multitude of reasons. The first being your ability to use lightning chakra, obviously with the Kiba being lightning infused blades this skill would be invaluable. The second reason is because you're nimble and quick, you have extreme maneuverability, this matches exceptionally well with the Kiba blades".

Hotaru nodded before taking hold of the two swords, "Thank you sensei, I'll make you proud" she said.

This left them with the final sword, the Hiramekarei. This was the sword previously wielded by Suigetsu's brother, Mangetsu.

"Naruto Uzumaki"

The Kyuubi Jinchuuriki was relieved, in truth he was hoping to be one of the people chosen. Naruto knew all about the swords' powers and he soon gained a keen interest in the blades. He didn't make it known to anyone, but he made it a personal goal to be one of the ninjas chosen for the role, and to hear his name get called out washed away all his doubts.

Naruto stood in front of Zabuza with a confident grin plastered on his face, Zabuza had a smirk of his own as he handed the Hiramekarei over to Naruto. The young man had come a long way from when he first arrived to where he is now. He was no longer weak and hopeless, after training day in and day out while constantly gaining real time battle experiences he grew to become a formidable ninja.

Despite his young age and Konoha background, Naruto had grown to be well respected and he was considered by many to be one of the strongest ninjas in their entire force.

"Naruto you show tremendous talent for ninjutsu, and your reserves are endless. Combine that with the Hiramekarei's abilities you'd be unstoppable. We know of your Konoha background and it proved to be an obstacle for you early on. But you've proven to everyone here where allegiance lies and the entire rebellion couldn't ask for a better solider".

"Thank you sensei I'll make you proud"

Naruto walked over to join Hotaru's side, all seven teenagers stood as the new swordsmen. Many were baffled by the choices, most specifically due to their age. Not a single of the ninjas chosen had reach twenty yet and the oldest was only eighteen. But then again despite their age these kids had proven time and time again why they were here, they were advanced for their age and they showed skills well above their years. Not to mention the incredible potential the group held, either way the soldiers decided to place their trust into the new swordsmen and the leaders who made this decision.

Mei's voice rang out into the crowd as the ceremony neared its conclusion.

"This will be what wins us this war, they will be the key to liberating our country, these men and women are the New Seven Swordsmen of the Mist".

* * *

**Author's Note**

Finally done, my lord this chapter clocked in at around 14k, the most I may have ever done. Anyway, there it is, Naruto's sword is the Hiramekarei. What do you guys think about that? Usually the sword goes to Chojuro as shown in canon, but personally for me I wanted Naruto to have that sword. In my opinion from all seven swords the Hiramekarei is my favorite, and I think its powers are super cool.

Here's a wee list of the swordsmen and their swords as a recap.

Naruto Uzumaki – Hiramekarei

Kagura Karatachi – Samehada

Suigetsu Hozuki – Kubikiribōchō

Haku – Nuibari

Chojuro – Shibuki

Hotaru – Kiba

Jugo – Kabutowari

Well let me know what you guys think of the swords and the choice of romance. If you haven't seen the notice up the top, basically I've chosen to make this a NaruSakuHarem. Let me know your opinions on that as well, and please favorite and follow the story. If you have any questions, suggestions or anything to say at all please leave a review or pm me. Thanks a lot for the support guys, I hope you liked the chapter. I'll try to release the following chapter next week.


	4. Team Assemble

Seven Swords

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

**Author's Notice: Hey everyone I'm back with yet another update, I'm glad you guys liked the last chapter especially concerning who gets what sword. Now a few people have been asking me if Naruto will learn to use all seven swords, and the answer to that is no. Each of them is designated a sword and that'll be it, none of them will learn another sword each will be stuck with what they were given. To be honest with all of you I really bounced around the idea of having Naruto wield either the Samehada or Hiramekarei, but in the end I chose the latter since I thought it was coolest of all the swords. If you guys want to know more about the power of the sword, check it out at the Naruto wiki page. There's some information over there, but to be honest it's a bit lacking, which is disappointing. So some of the powers that you might see soon are ones I make up myself.**

**I have another dilemma here in the story, so the pairing for this story will be NaruHarem and the girls will be Sakura, Hotaru, Mei, Karin and Shion. I mentioned the possibility of a sixth member and now I'm torn between four of them to be honest. I don't really want to have more than six, so I plan on sticking just to that. The ones I'm considering are Fu, Shizuka, Temari or Koyuki, I plan on only adding one of them if I even do add one. I don't mind sticking to the original five either. But from all of them I'm curious what you guys want to see of Fu. Should she join the rebellion and join the harem, or a possible route I was thinking of possibly adding her as Itachi's travelling partner and ship. Let me know what you guys think since I'm not particularly sure myself.**

**With all that out of the way, thanks everyone for continuing to support my work, many of you are asking about my past stories as well and don't worry I plan on revisiting them sometime in the future. It's just that I've lost a bit of a spark towards them, but this story is currently my focus now. I plan on adding a few more sometime soon, the main themes being a Mokuton Naruto story, and one where Naruto is trained by the Third Hokage from an early age. So yeah you guys have that to look forward to hopefully. But once again thank you all for the support you give. Please favorite and follow this story, and feel free to leave some reviews.**

* * *

**Chapter 4: The Seven Swordsmen**

The newly appointed Seven Swordsmen all gathered in a private and secluded meeting zone within the rebellion's base, in front of them stood Zabuza, their mentor. The announcement had just finished, and straight after the ceremony and celebration, Zabuza took them aside to explain what happens to them from here on forth. They were no longer normal soldiers among their ranks, now each of them were prized and specialized soldiers who carried the land's legendary weapons.

"I think you can all guess why you were all summoned here by yours truly, well as you can see now that you are all chosen as the next generation of swordsmen. Being a member of this prestigious group won't be easy at all, now you're tasked with upholding a longstanding tradition within Kiri. But unlike past generations I want you seven to be better than my generation or the ones before me. As you know the reputation of the Seven Swordsmen has never been good, we've always been known as demons or murderers. But I believe you as the next generation can rise over that, I know you seven can become greater than us, not to be seen as demons but seen as heroes"

Zabuza was pleased to see the determined looks on his student's faces, it was enough to bring a small smile to the man's face. "Well now that you all have one of the swords, it's time to really seal the deal. One thing many people don't know is that by joining the Seven Swordsmen you are entitled to signing a special summoning contract. Every member of this organization dating back to the first generation have had a summoning contract with the Sharks" explained the man as he removed the large scroll that was conveniently strapped to his back.

"A shark summoning contract? That'd be awesome how do I do this?" Suigetsu asked eagerly.

The scroll opened to show the many signatures of the past, and true to Zabuza's words there were an incredible number of signatures some recognizable while others not.

"Well to put it simply what you must do is to bite or cut the edge of your thumb to draw a bit of blood and then you sign your name in the scroll" replied Zabuza.

Naruto watched in both amazement and confusion. On one hand he was readily being given the ability to sign another summoning contract, but at the same time he already held a summoning contract, and a powerful one at that with his affinity for the toads.

"Um is it alright for me to sign this as well? I mean I already have a summoning contract of my own" asked the young Jinchuuriki.

"It should be alright; in my travels I've come across a few ninjas with more than one summoning contract. If you want to be sure you should summon one of the toads and ask them yourself".

Naruto nodded in understanding, while his fellow swordsmen lined up in front of the scroll to sign the contract, the blonde quickly summoned a familiar toad. A small plume of smoke erupted from the ground and upon dispersing there stood a small and elderly toad.

"Ah Naruto-chan it's good to see you again, it's been a while" said the elderly toad.

Naruto bowed respectfully, after all this toad had also acted as another sensei of his over the past few years. "It's good to see you again Fukasaku-sensei" he replied curtly.

"Well then what do you need of me my boy?" asked Fukasaku.

"I wanted to ask you if it would be alright for me to sign the shark summoning contract" replied Naruto as he grabbed the large sword strapped to his back. "As you can see I was chosen to be one of the seven swordsmen and as a member of this group I was offered to sign the contract, personally I think it would be beneficial for me to sign. But if you say no then I will completely understand, after all my loyalty will always be with the toads".

"Kind words from you Naruto-kun, I believe it should be alright for you to sign. After all, in terms of summoning tiers, sharks are a lower level of summon so we have no problem in allowing you to sign. Had it been a summon as equally powerful as us toads, say some thing like the snakes or the slugs then we'll have to refuse. But I see no problem with the shark summoning contract"

The blonde Jinchuuriki nodded at the toad sage, "Thank you sensei, I really appreciate it" he said.

"Don't worry about it Naruto-kun, if that is all you need then I shall take my leave. But before I go congratulations on your new appointment, even though you are no longer a Konoha shinobi I'm sure Jiraiya-chan would be proud of you"

A melancholic smile graced the blonde's face, "I'll continue to do my best to make him proud" he replied, Fukasaku smiled back at his latest student before disappearing only to leave yet another plume of smoke.

Naruto turned his attention to the scroll, from the looks of things everyone else had finished signing their names, leaving him as the last.

"So, what'd the toad say?" asked Suigetsu.

The young blonde failed to answer his companion's question upon noticing the significant change in the boy's teeth. His eyes widened in shock before pointing an exaggerated figure towards Suigetsu's face.

"What the hell happened to your teeth? I'm sure it wasn't that sharp just a few minutes ago" exclaimed Naruto.

Zabuza walked over to calm the young man down, "Allow me to explain, if you haven't noticed every member of the Seven Swordsmen have teeth that resembles a shark. The reason being is that it is a prerequisite for those who wield the shark summoning contract. Upon signing the contract your teeth will begin to grow sharp to look like a shark's" he explained.

"Damn, that is so weird…thank Kami there was nothing like that with the toads. I'll hide away in exile if I had to grow warts around my face or something"

The Kyuubi Jinchuuriki shook his head of such thoughts, he didn't want to alter his look any further since he already had the unique trait of having whiskers. But in the end this was a small price to pay for something as useful as a shark summon. So, the young man steeled his nerves and walked over to the scroll on the ground, he bit the tip of his thumb to release his blood and with it he quickly signed his name in the scroll.

Seconds after signing his name he felt a warm chakra surround his mouth, it ached a little but overall it wasn't much. The sensation continued for a few more seconds until he began to feel his teeth morph, once the sensation faded away he ran his fingers across his mouth only to prick the tip of one of his fingers. He inspected the tip of his finger only to find a few droplets of blood on it.

'Ouch that was sharp, I guess I have shark teeth now as well' he thought to himself.

Zabuza grabbed the scroll on the ground and returned it to the strap on his back, "Now then with that out of the way you seven are now officially the known as the new Seven Swordsmen. From this day forth" he announced in a prideful tone. All the hard work and effort put in by his students paid dividends and now here they were reaping their rewards.

"So, what's next now sensei? Is there a big mission for us? A group for us to ambush or something?" asked an excited Suigetsu.

The former Kiri nin merely chuckled darkly as the seven teens all noticed the mischievous and sadistic glint in his eyes, "No far from it. We're going to be training" he replied causing a bit of disappointment from the seven.

"What? More training haven't we done enough training already?" asked a disgruntled Naruto.

"He's right, you know what we are capable of. With these new swords and powers are abilities will only be stronger than they once were. We can make moves against the Mizukage right now" added Kagura.

"Don't worry I know how strong you seven are, but don't get cocky just because you seven were chosen. I chose you based on your potential, yes you all have abilities which are advanced for your age, but you still have a long way before I really deem you all worthy. The training you've all experienced these past few years have been nothing more but a beginner course. Now you're real training begins"

"What? That's so unfair sensei" whined Hotaru.

"That was just a beginner course?" stuttered Chojuro, the blue haired boy struggled enough with Zabuza's tough training regimen for them. But to find out it only got worse from here was enough to send shivers down the young man's spine.

"That's right brats, after all just because you now wield the swords it doesn't mean that you know how to use them. That will be the focus of our training, I will be teaching you all on how to use your swords. To be honest Suigetsu will be the one getting the best out of his deal seeing as how I've only really used the Kubikiribōchō in the past. But I've fought alongside the others enough to know the intricacies of the other blades, in some areas you'll have to learn it yourselves, but I'll do my best to point you all to the right direction"

"Is that all we're going to do? Train? What about missions?" questioned a frantic Suigetsu.

"Don't worry you will all still take part in missions but from now on it will be somewhat limited, the priority coming up will be your training. Your training and progression will be the key to winning this war, so we'll be relying on you. It's lucky for us that throughout these past few months we've added skilled ninjas in our ranks while taking down some of the Mizukage's most powerful ninjas. This will make things easier for us while you seven focus on your training".

"I guess we have no choice in the matter, do we sensei?" asked Jugo.

Zabuza shook his head, "No, no you don't. I guess with that out of the way it's time for me to welcome you all to hell".

* * *

**With Naruto**

An entire year had passed since Naruto began his training from hell, as Zabuza liked to call it. He was frustrated at his lack of time in the field, but he knew it was for the best. True to his word Zabuza trained them tirelessly, and although at times they hated their sensei, they were also glad to see the rapid improvements they've had under his watchful eye.

The young blonde laid in his tent preparing to go to sleep, today's training had been especially difficult, and he was left extremely sore and fatigued. But just before sleep managed to get a hold of him, he felt an immediate presence in his room. The young man's eyes bolted open as he instinctively grabbed the kunai in his holster, he sat up in quickly and eyed the invader. He breathed a sigh of relief and returned the kunai back to his holster upon seeing that it was nothing more but a messenger crow.

The black bird had a small note on its beak, it delivered it to Naruto and immediately dispelled. The Jinchuuriki quickly read the note before destroying the evidence.

'So Itachi has something important to tell me huh, I guess I better meet up with him' he thought to himself before gingerly standing up from his mat.

"Damn and I was just about to go to sleep as well, good timing you have Itachi" Naruto sarcastically muttered to no one in particular.

He walked out of his tent and immediately made his way to their designated meeting spot; he was able to escape from the guards around the base using his talent for stealth. Naruto travelled a good half hour away from the base to meet by a small town within the Land of Water. He walked over to the town's tavern to meet with his unlikely ally. But before he could enter the establishment he was accidentally bumped by a hooded man. Naruto glanced up to the man to apologize but before he could utter a word he saw the man's eyes flash red.

In a split-second Naruto appeared to be in a familiar spot, he looked around and realized this wasn't the entrance to the tavern. Then from the smoky background appeared a familiar face.

"Hello again Naruto-kun, I apologize for placing you under my genjutsu once again, but this makes meetings for us easier and less suspicious. We could spend hours here discussing but in the outside world it would be nothing more but a second".

Naruto sighed in annoyance, "Dammit Itachi even now you can still easily place me in a genjutsu. So anyway, I got your message what was so important that you had to contact me?" he asked.

"Well as you know Naruto-kun for the past few months I've stationed myself within the Land of Fire, and by doing so I've managed to uncover some interesting pieces of information that you might want to hear" he replied.

The blonde nodded in understanding, "I see so what do you have to tell me?".

"Unfortunately, I come with mostly bad news. For starters the supposed civil war of the Sunagakure ninjas against the Konoha ninjas who annexed their village failed, and to punish them for their insurrection Danzo had placed a representative to keep a watchful eye on them. I've heard that the person he sent over there is the same person he's grooming to overtake his position as Hokage once Danzo grows too old"

Naruto rubbed his temples in annoyance, "Please tell me it's not who I think it is".

"It pains me to say this but the representative sent by Danzo is Sasuke. He is there acting somewhat like the Kage of the village, and its safe to say his treatment of Suna is known to be a bit inhumane. He's been known so far to lead the village with an iron fist, and his treatment of the Suna civilians and ninjas have been deplorable" Itachi replied sadly.

The young Jinchuuriki clenched his fists in anger, "That teme, he doesn't deserve the title of Kage. He or that warhawk Danzo. They're doing nothing but spreading hatred and war across the lands" he exclaimed in anger.

Itachi nodded in agreement, "Indeed they have, I never believed Sasuke would turn out this way but I guess I am to blame" he said.

Naruto shook his head, "No don't say that, you are a hero of Konoha. You did what you had to do despite how painful it would've been. It's Sasuke's own choice to follow the path that he did" he said.

"Arigato Naruto-kun, those are kind words".

"So, what else have you heard then Itachi?"

"Well as you already know Danzo is going around capturing Jinchuuriki and annexing villages to replenish his military forces and to expand his land. He's been targeting Takigakure for a while now, he was meant to attack them last week but the recent insurgence in Suna forced him to delay his plans. I can't do much to protect Takigakure but I plan on rescuing their Jinchuuriki. Her name is Fu and she holds the Nanbi, I'll find a way to keep her away from Danzo's claws".

"Ah I see, so what's your plans with Fu then? Where do you plan on taking her and when do you plan on infiltrating Takigakure to do so?" he asked.

"Immediately, I plan to head over there after our meeting here. I am still unsure on where to leave; it needs to be a place safe and away from Konoha".

"You could possibly send her to join me and the rest of the gang at the rebellion, I'm sure we'd love to have her over at the group".

"That is a possibility, but I'll have to think it about it some more. I'll let you know if I choose to send her over to you".

"Sounds fair enough, now is there anything else?"

Itachi nodded, "There is one final thing, it has to do with Tsunade-sama and Jiraiya-sama" he said causing Naruto's eyes to widen in shock.

"Are they alive?" he asked desperately.

"I'm not sure, but I've heard mumblings around Konoha that they might be alive. I believe it's something only the higher ups of Konoha know. But as soon as my business in Takigakure is done I plan on investigating the matter some more. If anything pops up I'll make sure to let you know".

"Very well, please do let me know. I owe my life to those two and if you have any plans to free them or anything of that nature contact me. I want to help you" he said.

Itachi nodded, "Very well, but as far as news go that's all I have to say. Till we meet again Naruto-kun" he replied.

In a matter of seconds Naruto was back standing in front of the tavern's entrance, but there was Itachi in sight. The blonde sighed at the behavior of his friend, "Always the mysterious type eh Itachi" he muttered softly.

Naruto glanced around his surroundings and decided to make use of his time here, it wasn't often he had leisure time so while he was here he may as well have a good time in the tavern. Maybe try to charm a lady or something.

He chuckled as he remembered his old sensei, 'If that old pervert could see me now' he thought to himself.

* * *

**One Year Later**

Two years overall had passed since Naruto and his friends were bestowed their individual swords. In those two years the seven who trained under Zabuza grew tremendously strong, each of them managed to master the blade which they were given. It pleased Zabuza along with the rest of the rebellion to see the improved proficiency of the young ninjas with their designated weapon. They had grown from being reliable ninjas in the rebellion to genuine threats to the Mizukage.

In that span of time the political landscape around the world was drastically changing. Despite the time the seven spent training under their sensei Zabuza, they still took part in the occasional mission and so far the years had been good to the rebellion. Massive strides were made by the rebellion to the point that victory now seemed achievable. Over the years the rebellion had prioritized guerilla warfare in their tactics to weaken the Kiri military. This method took a lot of time and preparation for them, but this method reduced their casualties significantly.

With sabotages and raids to Kiri's supply lines outside the village, and ambushes on their marching forces, the rebellion was able to hit the Kiri's military where it hurt. The damage accumulated over the years and now for the first time in a long time, the rebellion now had the upper hand. The Mizukage was now cautious and paranoid, he was beginning to act more conservative and this meant that they rarely had to worry about troops outside of the capital. All that was left was to overthrow the government itself and defeat the Mizukage. But of course, this was all easier said than done.

Over those two years there has also been a drastic increase in the volunteers and troops who joined the rebellion, many people throughout the Land of Water were inspired by the heroic actions of these freedom fighters that they decided to sign up. Among the notable new recruits of course was Karin and Guren, the two of them had proven their loyalty over the years. Karin was known to be one of the rebellion's most skilled medics, not to mention being their most proficient sensor. Guren on the other hand proved to be one of their most powerful soldiers, with her Crystal Release doing a lot of damage to the Mizukage's forces.

But while things were going according to plan for the Kiri Rebellion, the same could almost be said to Konoha, and this distressed Naruto immensely. Over the past year, Sasuke's stranglehold in Suna had become infamous to the point that it was known to be a dictatorship. Suna was struggling immensely under Sasuke, and he heard rumors about the inhumane treatment towards the Suna civilians and ninjas. They were treated like second class citizens, while Konoha ninjas used the village as a strategic military base. There has been news on Gaara as well, and none of them good. He was still imprisoned and according to the intel gathered by his spies, it turns out he's being controlled by Sasuke and being used a trump card weapon.

Kiri was also currently a target of Konoha, but for the moment Danzo chose to watch from afar and allow the rebellion to unfold. The old warhawk was a crafty and cunning bastard, he planned on waiting till either the current regime or the rebellion would win the civil war, since it meant that despite the outcome the winner will be at his weakest point, and that would be the most opportune time to strike.

Other than Suna and Kiri, it was well known across the lands that Konoha had also annexed Takigakure, it was now a military base for Konoha but their original goal of finding yet another Jinchuuriki to control turned out to be a failure. They easily managed to control the area and the land, but they searched tirelessly for Fu, but only to return emptyhanded. They had interrogated the many civilians and ninjas of the village, but none of them were able to come up with a concrete answer to her whereabouts.

Naruto on the other hand knew exactly where she was, Itachi decided to bring her along with him. He had heard from Itachi a few months ago, and the Uchiha updated the young blonde of his current plans. According to Itachi the Akatsuki were recruiting some new members and they were to resume their plans sometime soon, and to prepare Fu for such a task he decided to bring her along with him for the meantime. He was training the young Jinchuuriki to protect herself, so that if the time comes that he must leave she would be able to sufficiently defend herself against the S-Rank organization.

Other than that, Itachi was also laying low for a while. The search for Fu was extreme on both sides, from Konoha and the Akatsuki. This stopped Itachi from gathering more intel within Konoha, particularly the status of Jiraiya and Tsunade. This mission was put on a momentary hiatus until Itachi deemed it clear to investigate the village once more. From what Naruto heard, Itachi and Fu were hiding somewhere in the Land of Waves, after Naruto recommended he stay with his friend Tazuna. But they could be anywhere by now, since Itachi was always the cautious type and for that reason he tended to never stay too long in one spot.

* * *

**Base HQ**

Many of the rebellion's highest-ranking officers and most trusted ninjas gathered for an important meeting. They were all called in by none other than the leader of the rebellion, Mei Terumi and she stated that she held vital news with her.

Many among the ranks had grown in confidence since their cause was beginning to gain more ground. Their visions and dreams were coming to a fruition and it began to send a sense of joy and pride in their work, these brave men and women were risking their lives to finally achieve peace in their home. This new sensation put a lot of these shinobi at ease, having the upper hand in battle gave them the opportunity to relax for once.

"Attention everyone" Mei announced as the crowd of ninjas began to grow silent, "I have called you all here because as it stands right now, our rebellion is one big breakthrough away from finally being able to launch our final attack. I've sent some of our ninjas to scout the perimeter of Kiri. According to their findings as it stands we have a reasonable chance of success if we attack with the forces we have now".

The crowd roared in approval but were quickly silenced as Mei continued, "But I feel as though before we attack the capital to liberate our home, we must recruit a few more allies. I've sent letters to our allies, Nadeshiko Village, the Land of Demons, the Land of Snow and the Land of Waves asking for assistance, only the Land of Snow and Nadeshiko Village can send us troops. Despite their help however I feel like we need one final boost to really tip the scales to our favor. We only have one shot at this and seeing how this will be the battle that determines the war, I want us to have the highest chance of success as possible" she exclaimed as hushed whispers erupted from the crowd.

While the crowd erupted into a small argument on the matter, Naruto raised his hand to Mei. The auburn haired kunoichi noticed the Jinchuuriki's actions and she nodded at him to allow him to speak.

"If I may Mei-chan, I believe I have a possible solution for this" he said as the ears of the crowd perked up, soon after that all eyes were directed to the blonde.

"Oh, please do tell Naruto-kun" replied Mei.

"I'm sure you all know about the current situation in Sunagakure. Personally, I have many friends in Suna, and I believe if we can overthrow Konoha's grasp on their village they could be a powerful ally for us against Yagura" he said.

As expected there was a cry of disapproval from some of the senior ninjas, "We're struggling enough to overthrow one government, and you wish to do the same to another village?" asked a skeptical shinobi.

"I understand your inhibitions towards my plan, but the military defenses in Sunagakure are nowhere near the same level as that of Konoha. I for one guarantee that we have nothing to worry about it when it comes to the Suna ninjas in the village, in fact if we plan this right they may even help us in this. All we really have to worry about are the Konoha ninjas stationed there" explained Naruto.

"You sound awfully confident there Naruto-kun, what makes you so certain that this is achievable?" asked Mei.

"I believe for our best chance of success we shouldn't rely on brute force, but instead a bit of stealth and cunningness. I can guarantee you all myself that I can pull this off, you said it yourself Mei-chan all we needed now was one last breakthrough. Well here it is, we have the opportunity to gain an incredible ally in Suna, all we need to do is remove Konoha's stranglehold on their village".

Mei pondered on the young man's request, there was a multitude of pros and cons that went with this plan. She scanned across the room and she noticed that the room too was divided on the topic, many felt it was too risky of a choice to make since if things didn't go well, Konoha may soon be on their ass. Not only that but if it failed, they could potentially lose valuable troops and supplies which may weaken the rebellion in the long run as well. But others also agreed with the blonde, there were certain times that daring risks were needed if they wanted to come out successful, you wouldn't get anywhere by playing it safe all the time.

Naruto continued to argue for his case, "I'm sure you all are also aware of Konoha's plans, it's been said by our organization's intel that Konoha was keeping a close eye on Kiri. Even if we do win anyway Konoha will be targeting us regardless, and that means we won't have time to rest and regroup to defend ourselves. But if we manage to liberate Suna, we put a wrench in Konoha's plans and that may delay them for a while, giving us time to prepare. Not only that but Suna could prove to be an ally for us against Konoha as well. This will make them think twice about even targeting us" he explained.

Zabuza noticed Mei's apprehension and he decided it was time to intervene, he walked over the kunoichi and whispered advice into her ear.

"Mei-sama, I think Naruto is right. This is a bold move and a big risk, but I believe it's one we must make. This could be what assures us victory, and if puts you at ease I believe in Naruto. I've been training him and the others for these past few years and I am confident in his ability. He's strong, as much as I hate to admit it, he's surpassed me a long time ago" he said capturing the interest of Mei.

Mei nodded in understanding, she valued the words of Zabuza seeing how he was one of her most trusted soldiers and companions.

"Very well Naruto-kun, I'll allow it. But because of your guarantee I want you to personally oversee this mission as its leader. You'll recruit your team and come up with the plan for liberating Suna as well. I am placing a lot of trust in you Naruto-kun, please don't disappoint me".

Naruto bowed respectfully to her, "Don't worry Mei-chan, your trust in me is not misplaced" he replied in a confident tone.

"Alright Naruto-kun, I want you to meet me by my tent first thing first thing tomorrow morning with your team ready to go" she replied before turning her attention to the rest of the crowd, "For now we will delay our attack on Kiri for another month. In this month I want you all to go around gather supplies and recruit some more soldiers. This next month will be crucial for us since it will be what makes or break this war. Other than that, you are all dismissed".

Upon the dismissal of the group, Naruto quickly scanned the room in search of the people he wanted with him for this mission. His eyes immediately darted towards his two closest friends. The young blonde walked over to both Suigetsu and Chojuro.

"Hey guys" he greeted as the two noticed the approaching blonde.

Suigetsu had his arms crossed as he smirked at his friend, "Still a ballsy bastard I see Naruto, you sure do know how to split a crowd" he said.

"Hai that was brave of you Naruto-kun, so what's your plan now?" asked Chojuro.

Before Naruto could reply Suigetsu butted in, "Let me guess you're here because you want to ask us to join you huh?".

"You know me too well Suigetsu, so what'll it be you two?" asked Naruto.

Suigetsu chuckled softly, "Do you even have to ask?" he said before high fiving his blonde friend.

"I guess not, thanks Suigetsu" replied the blonde.

"What are friends for? Am I right?" Suigetsu asked before turning to his nervous companion, "What about you Chojuro? Are you coming?".

"Of course, I can't stay behind in the sidelines while you guys take part in such an important mission".

Naruto smiled at his two friends, he knew they wouldn't say no, and he was thankful at the trust and camaraderie he shared with his new friends. Suigetsu and Chojuro were both like brothers to Naruto and the blonde knew he could always count on them to have his back.

"Alright if that's the case I'll head back to my tent to start packing and rest up for a bit, from the sound of things the next few weeks is going to be quite hectic for us"

"I agree with Suigetsu-san, it's probably best for us to start getting ready" said Chojuro.

Naruto nodded in understanding before heading off in search of his other recruits, his next spot to check was the training grounds. He walked over to the area to find his next two recruits. There having a small spar with their swords was Haku and Hotaru. Upon Naruto's arrival the two ceased their spar to have a small breather.

"What brings you here Naruto-kun? Does it have something to do with your new mission?" Hotaru asked in a knowing voice.

The Kyuubi Jinchuuriki nodded, "Yeah I've already asked both Suigetsu and Chojuro and both agreed to join me. I was hoping you two you would be interested in doing so as well" he answered.

Hotaru sighed in feigned annoyance, "At this point I have no choice really, if you three idiots are going then I have to go. After all who's going to watch after all your stupid asses if I'm not around" she said with a small smile betraying her fake tone.

Naruto chuckled softly before walking over to plant a small chaste kiss on the blonde kunoichi's forehead, "Arigato Hotaru-chan, I appreciate it" he said.

Hotaru blushed up a storm as she barely squeaked out a reply, "Don't worry about it Naruto-kun" she stuttered anxiously.

"I owe you my life Naruto-kun, I will follow you" guaranteed Haku. The whiskered boy smiled and nodded at the ice-user. Haku was a person of few words but despite that Naruto recognized her as one of his most trusted and reliable companions.

"Thank you Haku-chan" he said.

"Don't mention it Naruto-kun"

Naruto smiled brightly at the two kunoichi, "Alright then so that's four, any chance either of you guys know where Jugo is?" he asked.

Haku nodded, "Yes I saw him somewhere along the forest foraging for medicinal herbs" she replied.

"Very well I'll go on and look for him then" he said before heading off in search of his gentle friend. He travelled across the forest in search of him, only to eventually find him interacting with some of the wildlife around the area. There Jugo stood feeding some of the deer which inhabited the forest.

"Ah Jugo there you are, I've been looking for you"

Jugo turned around and smiled as he saw his approaching friend, "Oh good to see you Naruto, what brings you here?" he asked as a smile graced the large man's face.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head as he smiled at his fellow swordsman, "I am here to ask if you would be willing to join me in my mission, I know you were in the meeting back at HQ so I'm sure you know what the mission entails" he said.

Jugo nodded, "Hai don't worry I know. Well if it means anything Naruto, you're one of the few people who have been able to control my murderous urges and you've helped me throughout these years to learn how to control it. For that you have my thanks and loyalty" he said with a smile.

The blonde returned the smile and nodded before extending a handshake to the orange haired boy, "Thank you Jugo" he said.

"Who else have you asked?"

"So far Suigetsu, Haku, Chojuro and Hotaru have also agreed. Now all I need is Kagura, and possibly one more person".

"I see, well if you need to look for Kagura the best place to look is by his tent. If I'm not mistaken he retired somewhat early after the meeting we had back at HQ"

"Ah thanks that's good to know I'll head over there now" replied Naruto.

The young blonde left to search for the final swordsman, upon arriving back at the encampment the blonde immediately approached his companion's personal living quarters. He stood right outside the young man's tent and beckoned for him to come out.

"Hey Kagura, it's me Naruto, you in there? I want to talk to you" he announced.

"Hm give me a second I'll head out in a moment"

Naruto nodded and waited outside, after a while Kagura walked out of his tent and immediately eyed up the young blonde. "You called me for me Naruto?" he asked in his usual stoic tone.

"Hai I've asked the other five swordsmen and I'm sure you can already guess why I'm here. It has to do with the Suna mission I'll be leading, I'd like for you to join us

Kagura pondered on the thought, the mission did in face sound dangerous, but he knew just how detrimental this was for their goal. Besides this could be the perfect test for him and the Samehada, over these past few years he and the rest of the swordsmen rarely took part in missions, and the ones they were a part in weren't enough to test his new abilities. This could be the perfect opportunity for him to do just that.

But of course, that wasn't the only reason Kagura would accept this request, in his time training with the others the group of swordsmen grew to respect and befriend one another. Naruto was the glue that stuck the team together, he was close friends with all of them, while Kagura was the opposite. Kagura was the most distant from the group, but that didn't mean he didn't care for his comrades. He cared very deeply and even regarded them as his friends, the only problem for him was that he just didn't know how to express so he tended to keep to himself most of the time. But among his fellow swordsmen the one Kagura respected most was the man in front of him.

He and Naruto didn't always see eye to eye, especially at the start but over time Naruto was one of the few people in the rebellion who was able to see the true side of Kagura. The blonde knew that despite the young man's stoic and detached demeanor that underneath all that he was a reliable and trustworthy ally. He just happened to have a dark past which affected him to this day, of course this wasn't something new to Naruto, after all he was teammates with Sasuke in the past, so he knew full well how to handle people like them.

"I think you already know my answer my Naruto" he replied with an uncharacteristic smile.

Naruto smiled brightly back at his aloof friend, "I just wanted to make sure Kagura. But I knew I could count on you; I should probably leave you to it for now but remember we have to meet at Mei's tent sometime tomorrow morning for a quick debrief before we go" he explained as Kagura nodded in understanding.

"Very well I'll make my preparations now, I'll see you tomorrow Naruto" he replied before heading back into his tent.

'Alright so far so good. All I need is my final member for this mission' Naruto thought to himself before mindlessly walking over to the base's medical tents. As the blonde entered the medical unit his eyes landed on a beautiful crimson haired girl. The redhead was doing her rounds watching over the sick and wounded, and in a matter of seconds her crimson eyes turned to his direction.

Karin's cheeks reddened slightly upon seeing Naruto, truth be told she held a but of a crush for the Jinchuuriki over the years. It started off as a small attraction due to his looks and the warmth of his chakra, but after getting to know him and spending more and more time with him, she developed a definite crush on her fellow Uzumaki. But of course, she didn't know exactly how to act around him, she knew of his complicated relationship with her friend Hotaru, so she decided to step back from her feelings out of respect for her friend.

"Hey Karin-chan I want to talk to you"

"Hai Naruto-kun just give me a second, I just need to finish off my rounds it won't take long" she assured. The young blonde nodded as he waited for a couple minutes for her to finish off her shift. From the looks of things Karin seemed to have everything in here under control. Once the redhead finished her job she walked over to Naruto.

"What do you need of me Naruto-kun?" she asked in a shy tone.

Naruto chuckled seeing her flustered state, he knew of her infatuation for him but like her he hadn't acted upon it just yet. In truth he did find her attractive as well, and over time he grew to care for her the same way he cared for Hotaru, and possibly Shion. But his love life was the least of his concerns, Naruto was solely focused on his training and on the rebellion. Besides he still felt somewhat of a connection to a girl back home, as much as he hated it he couldn't get his mind off that one girl and it annoyed him to no end.

Maybe after this entire ordeal once things settle down here in Kiri Naruto can finally settle down, despite his thoughts on Sakura he knew it was an unrealistic goal. For all he knew she was probably already with Sasuke by now, either that or she may have met someone new. The blonde sighed internally, he knew he couldn't complain, all he wished was for the girl he loved to be happy.

The young Jinchuuriki shook his head of his thoughts, this wasn't the time for him to mope around especially when he had an important job to do. He cleared his throat before directing his full attention back to his fellow Uzumaki.

"Karin-chan I'm here to ask if you could possibly join my team for our mission in Sunagakure. The team I've made so far includes the other swordsmen, and basically our role is to focus on combat. You on the other hand can be our perfect support system since we lack a proper medic, both Haku and Hotaru know the basics of first aid but your skills far surpass theirs in that regard. That and your sensory skills can prove to be invaluable for a stealth and infiltration mission such as this".

The redness of her cheeks deepened at the praise given to her by the blonde, "You give me too much credit Naruto-kun, but I promise to do my best. I'll come along and provide as much support as you all need. Thank you for thinking of me Naruto-kun, I'll make sure not to disappoint" she replied shyly as her eyes nervously glanced back and forth from the floor and Naruto's cerulean eyes.

A foxy grin graced Naruto's whiskered face, he decided to be a little bit cheeky towards Karin after seeing her current state. He walked over slowly and caressed her cheek with his right hand, her eyes widened in shock as the shade of her blush deepened further. He leaned over slowly and planted a small chaste kiss on her left cheek leaving her as a stuttering mess.

"Thank you for your help Karin-chan. You've been an absolute godsend since you joined us" he said in a deep and soft tone before drawing back from the redhead.

"Hai Naruto-kun, don't worry about it" she stuttered.

Naruto chuckled internally watching her flustered state, maybe he could settle down once all this mess was over. He had to give it some thought, despite his strong feelings for the pinkette back in Konoha, it didn't mean that he shouldn't go and find happiness with another. Maybe this was a sign after all for him to move on, he decided to give it some more thought once his job was over.

"I should probably head back now and report to Mei-chan about my team, I'll see you tomorrow for a quick team meeting before we head off. Thanks again Karin-chan" he replied with a bright smile before walking out of the medical tent.

"I'll see you tomorrow Naruto-kun" she said in a soft and meek tone, a part of her still couldn't believe her blonde crush had just done that. Her hand gently graced the cheek he kissed earlier on as a small squeal escaped her mouth.

* * *

**The Next Day**

Naruto and his team were gathered in front of Mei, behind the rebel leader was her two advisors, Zabuza and Ao. "Well I won't keep you eight for very long, I know it'll take roughly a week to get to Suna, and so for this mission time will be of the essence. I expect you all to keep me updated with your plans, use your summons to send me messages and if things aren't looking good don't hesitate to either ask for assistance from me or flee altogether" she said as the soldiers all nodded in understanding.

"Also, for the purpose of this mission I made sure to make specific masks for each of you swordsmen, since you'll all be fighting in the front lines we thought it best to keep you all masked for now so that Konoha won't find out your identities. They'll know it was Kiri regardless due to the swords, but at least they won't know who exactly the seven swordsmen are" she explained further.

Zabuza walked over to each of the swordsmen and handed them all a porcelain white mask each, like that of ANBU. But unlike the ANBU masks in Konoha there weren't any animal distinctions on this, instead each of the seven masks handed over to the swordsmen each held a specific kanji.

Naruto examined the mask given to him, much like the others it was minimalistic in appearance, most of the mask was plain white the only design was the kanji placed on the forehead. He then looked around and studied the masks of his companions, each of them had a different kanji on the forehead of their white masks. The only one who didn't have a kanji in their mask was Karin, she held a blank porcelain unlike the rest of them.

"As you can all already tell there is a theme for the mask designs, I made sure to get them sorted late last night after Naruto gave Mei-sama and I a debrief on his team and his plans. Each of the Seven Swordsmen is granted a kanji in their mask, with the kanji signifying one of the seven deadly sins" explained Zabuza.

The whiskered teen studied the kanji in his mask and realized that Zabuza was right, the word placed on his mask was none other than the greatest sin of all, Pride.

He examined his teammates once more and studied the kanji and sins placed upon them. Kagura's mask had the kanji for Wrath, Suigetsu's was Gluttony, Haku held the kanji for Lust, Hotaru's sin was Greed, the sin placed on Chojuro was Sloth, and finally Jugo was given Envy.

"Now don't fret there isn't a particular reason as to why you were given these sins" Zabuza explained before embarrassingly rubbing the back of his head, "To be honest the only reason I did it was because I thought it was cool" he muttered softly. But not soft enough to avoid Naruto's hearing, causing the young blonde to stifle his laugh. He knew that Zabuza was a trained killer, but deep down the former Kiri nin was a bit of a dork once you got to know him.

"Worry not these masks aren't only for designs" interjected Mei, "Inside each of these masks is a seal. I made our Fuinjutsu experts around here strategically place a seal that automatically conceals your chakra. It took all night, but they managed to perfect it to the point that it makes you appear to have nothing more than the chakra levels of a civilian".

"Whoa that's cool, let's try it out" urged Hotaru as she immediately wore her mask, "Karin-chan tell me, can you still sense my chakra?".

The redhead focused herself to sense the surrounding chakra and much to her surprise the chakra she felt from her was lessened immensely. But due to her extremely unique affinity to sensory ninjutsu, she was still able to tell her apart from a normal civilian. However, Karin was a special case, had it been another sensor ninja she doubted she could tell the difference.

"Wow that's impressive it does work" she remarked clearly amazed by the contraption.

"Awesome, thanks Mei-sama these are going to be so useful for the future" said Hotaru.

Mei chucked in amusement, "Think nothing of it Hotaru-chan, but before you go Zabuza-san here wants to say one more thing to you all" she said.

"This will be the first official mission where the seven of you work as a team. From here on out there'll be a lot more missions like this and before we carry on I want to assign a captain for the Seven Swordsmen. For every generation of the Seven Swordsmen there has always been a captain and vice-captain, before this current generation Kisame was the latest to captain the seven, and his vice-captain was none other than Mangetsu Hozuki. In the time I spent training you all I was also watching you all intently to gauge your potentials and after much thought I've finally found my answer".

The seven swordsmen all stood nervously under the watchful eye of their sensei; they had no idea there was a leadership system in this organization but when they thought about it some more it made sense. The group was split half and half on the subject, one half of them felt they could handle the responsibilities than came with being a captain. The other however would rather remain stress free and continue living on as a mere soldier.

"After much thought two individuals showed me the most potential from you seven, and this is no insult to any of you. It's just that I saw something different when it came to these two, and for the past few months I've bounced around the idea on who should be the captain between the pair. The Vice-Captain of the Seven Swordsman will be Kagura, and for the Captain I've chosen Naruto" he said.

The two young boys looked stunned at their sensei's bold declaration, but despite their shock they were both happy since they were among the seven that were hoping to be chosen. Not long after the two were congratulated by their friends. It made them feel proud of themselves for earning the faith of their sensei and their peers.

Zabuza watched the entire exchange with a smile, it all made sense for him to choose the two. It took him a while to come up with a proper decision but in the end he was pleased with his own selection. He studied all his students and although he saw potential in all of them, he didn't think all of them were entirely fit to be leaders.

Chojuro suffered from anxiety from time and time and Zabuza felt he didn't have it in him to boss people around. He was a skilled fighter and a reliable teammate but just not suited to be a leader. Suigetsu was loud, brash and confident, but too much so sometimes and a lot of the time it bordered on overconfidence. He needed to be levelheaded and more practical if he wanted to lead this group. Jugo on the other hand was far too kind and gentle. He knew he could trust the young man in a fight, but he doubted that when push comes to shove Jugo could make the tough decisions that had to be made.

From the girls Hotaru was also out of the running, she was bubbly and energetic but at the same time childish and naïve. She had a lot of growing up to do for her to be a captain. Haku on the other hand was the only other one in the running. Zabuza knew her the best from all the students and she was the person he trusted most, and had it been a different group Zabuza probably would have chosen her to be a captain, but it just happened to be that she was placed with both Kagura and Naruto.

Kagura had the natural instincts to be a member of the Seven Swordsmen, his skills were rivalled only by Naruto and the two of them had created somewhat of a gap in power between them and the other five. But aside from his prowess in battle, Kagura was one of the most levelheaded and reasonable members of the group. He has also proven himself to be one of the more intelligent members of this organization, and he has displayed his intelligence time and time again during their training and missions from being able to come up with sound and practical plans that lead to victory. The only thing that stopped him from getting the rank of captain was his reserved demeanor, he knew he could lead by example, but he felt that the captain also needed to lead by words.

That's where Naruto comes in, the young blonde initially didn't prove to be a leader type for Zabuza. But over the years he matured immensely, though he still maintained a bit of childish charm and the occasional bits of immaturity. Naruto grew from being an unorganized and unpredictable ninja to be one of the more capable and successful tacticians in the rebellion, it helped that he had something most of the others lacked, creativity. For a long one thing the blonde lacked in was a bit of intelligence, but after forcing him to study and with the help of clones over those years they were able to neutralize that and even turn it into a strength.

But probably the most vital reason for Naruto's appointment was his attitude. He showed a willingness to sacrifice himself for this cause and it put actual Kiri natives to shame since Naruto was originally from Konoha. He bled for the land, and he fought for the cause, he was the symbol of what a soldier around here should be. Zabuza has seen Naruto's interactions with his peers, he knew full well how the blonde had a talent for words. After all it was a speech from the blonde that made him change his old ways. He knew how he inspired his fellow peers and his friends from both his words and actions. He worked harder than anyone during training and during missions that it inspired others to follow suit, and he had given speeches that have rallied men and women to continue fighting on. All in all, the blonde was a diamond in the rough, after some maturing he grew from being a whiny and cocky brat, to being a trustworthy leader of men.

"Well that's all Zabuza and I had to say. Good luck in your coming mission, may you all stay safe" Mei said as she directed a charming smile to the eight soldiers in front of her.

Naruto smiled back before turning back to his troops, "Alright, everyone get ready, we'll be heading out now" he said.

'It seems we'll be seeing each other real soon teme'.

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**Author's Note**

Excuse the whole seven deadly sins theme I placed on them; I've been watching the Seven Deadly Sins anime recently along with Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood so the whole idea of the sins have been stuck in my head for a while now. But yeah other than that here you all go. I hope you guys liked my latest chapter and stay tuned for more. Thank you all for the mad support. For those that haven't yet please favorite and follow the story, and please leave a review. Thanks everyone.


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